The sermons of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne

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THE

SERMONS

OP THE

REV. ROBERT MURRAY MCCHEYNE

MINISTER OP ST. PETER'S CHURCH, DUNDEE. *

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.

NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS,

No. 530 BROADWAY.
1861.

P R E F -A C E ,

THE very favorable reception which the Christian public has given to the " Me-
moir and Remains " of the author, by the Rev. Andrew A. Bonar, has induced
the Editor of this Volume, with the sanction and approbation of a clerical friend
ot great eminence and piety, intimately acquainted with the author and his writ-
ings, and by whom the greater part of the work has been revised, to publish
these Additional Remains, consisting of a selection from the Sermons delivered
by Mr. M'Cheyne in the course of his ministry. Like those annexed to Mr.
Sonar's Memoir, they are printed from the author's MS. notes, written as prepa-
rations for the pulpit, but not intended for publication, or revised bj him with
that view.

This volume contains specimens of Discourses delivered in all the years of
the author's ministry ; and the places and dates of delivery are given at the close
of each Discourse, wherever they have been marked. The demand for their
publication by members of his flock and other friends, many of whom own him
as their spiritual father, has been loud and urgent. To all such the book will be
acceptable, as helping " to stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance ;"
and, notwithstanding many imperfections, which, in the circumstances of its
publication, have been unavoidable, the Editor hopes that, by the blessing of God,
it may be useful to others also into whose hands it may fall.

EDINBURGH, Jfovembcr, 1846.

CONTENTS

SERMONS.

I. I am the way, the truth, and the life. — Join *»*.t 6 . 9
II. Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our Profession —

Heb. iii., 1 ........ .14

III. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. —

Song of Solomon, ii., 2, 3 ....... 20

IV. It is unreasonable in unconverted persons to make mirth. —

Ezek. xxi., 9, 10 ......... 26

V. Christ offers himself a Saviour to all the human race — Prov.

viii., 4 ..... ..... 33

VI. The subject of John's preaching. — 1 John i., 1-4 ... 38

VII. The believer is Christ's garden. — Song iv., 12 .. .44

VIII. The Redeemer's goodness to a believing soul. — Song viii., 5-7 46

IX. John's vision. — Rev. vii., 9 to end ... 51

X. Christ a merciful High Priest. — Heb. ii., 16-18 ... 55

XI. (Ordination Sermon.) Position and duties of Ministers. — 2 Tim.

~iv., 1, 2 ....... . 60

XII. Perfect love casteth out fear — 1 John iv., 18-21 ... 71

XIII. Glorying in the Cross.— Gal. vi., 14 ..... 78

XIV. The good way of coming before the Lord. — Micah vi., 6-8 . 81
XV. A believer delights in the law of God. — Rom. vii., 22-25 . 86

XVI The broken heart.— Psalm Ii., 17 ...... 92

XVII. The fearful condition of natural men. — Psalm Iviii., 3-5 . . 95

XVIII. The impressions of natural men are fading. — Hosea vi., 4 . 99

XIX. Do what you can. — Mark xiv., 8 ..... 105

XX. Motives for laying hold of Jesus.. — Song iii., 4 . . 109

XXI. Christ in you the hope of glory. — Col. i., 27 . . . . Ill

XXII. A Castaway.— 1 Cor. ix., 26, 27 ....... 115

XXIII. (Communion Sermon.) Christ's Prayer to the Father. — John

"xvii., 24 .......... 120

XXIV. The voice of my beloved.— Song of Solomon ii., 8-17 . 131

,

*• CONTENTS.

"

FAOI

XXV Our duty to Israel.— Rom. i., 16

XXVI Blessed are the dead.— Rev. xiv., 13

. Address on the close of a Communion Sabbath ... 151

, «« after the Communion . . .

XXVII. Turn ye at my reproof.— Prov. i., 20-23

iXVIII. A son honoreth his father.— Mai. i., 6 166

XXIX. The difficulty and desirableness of conversion.— Ps. xl., 1-3 . 172

\\X. The love of Christ constraineth.— 2 Cor. v., 14 ... 179

XXXI. Arise, shine.— Isa. lx., 1-3 . • 188

XXXII. Melting the betrayer.— John xiii., 21 193

XX XIII. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness. — Isa. xiii., 5-8 . 201

XXXIV. Return unto me.— Isa. xliv., 21, 22 206

XXXV. I will pour water.— Isa. xliv., 3, 4 ... 211

XXXVI. God let none of his words fall to the ground.— 1 Sam. iii., IS . 217

XXXVII. The work of the Spirit.— Gen. i., 2 224

XXXVIII. Moses and Hobab.— Numb, x., 29 . . . 229

. XXXIX. Comfort ye.— Isa. xl., 1,2 234

XL. Can a woman forget ?— Isa. xlix., 14, 15 ... 239

XLI. Thanksgiving obtains the Spirit.— 2 Chron. v., 13, 14 . 244

XLII. An exceeding good land.— Numb, xiv., 7, 8 . . . . 249

XLIII. Family government. — Gen. xviii., 19 '..... 254

XLIV. And in this mountain.— Isa. xxv., 6, 8 .... 257

XLV. The heart deceitful.— Jer. vii., 9, 10 . 262

XLVI. Trust in the Lord. —Prov. iii., 5 ..... 267

XLVII. Not a Jew which is one outwardly.— Rom. ii., 28, 29 . 273

XLVIII. Jesus's compassion on the multitudes. — Matt, ix., 35-38 . . 279

XLIX. Christ's love to the Church.— Eph. v., 25-27 .... 285

L. Christ became poor for sinners. — 2 Cor. viii., 9 . . . 289

LI. Enemies reconciled through death.— Col. i., 22-23 ... 295

LII. My God, my God.— Matt, xxvii., 46 301

LIU. Death of Stephen.— Acts vii., 59 306

LIV. Time is short.— 1 Cor. vii., 29-31 311

LV. Sir, we would see Jesus.— John xii., 20-26 .... 318

LVI. Thou that dwellest in the gardens.— Cant, viii., 13, 14 . . 323

LVII. Draw water with joy.— Isa. xii., 1-3 329

LVIII. Look to a pierced Christ.— Zech. xii , 10, xiii., 1 . . . 334

LIX. I sleep, but my heart waketh. — Cant, v., 2, to the end . . 340

LX. A thorn in the flesh.— 2 Cor. xii., 7-10 346

LXI. The second advent.— Mark xiii., 34-37 350

LXII. Lot's wife. — Gen. xix., 26 355

LXIII. Happy art thou, 0 Israel !— Deut. xxxiii., 29 .... 362

LXIV. Entreat me not to leave thee.— Ruth i., 16 . 370

LXV. The vision of dry bones. — Ezek. xxxvii., 1-14 . . . 374

LXVI. Christ the only refuge.— Isa. xxxvi, 20 ... 381

LXVII. Will ye also go away ?— John vi., 66-68 . . . 389

LXVIII Ye will not come to me.— John v., 40 - 394

-

CONTENTS. VU

*AO«

LXIX. If any man thirst. — John vii., 37 400

LXX. Conviction of sin. — John xvi., 8 406

LXXI. Conviction of righteousness. — John xvi., 8 .... 414

LXXII. My Lord, and my God !— John xx., 26-28 .... 424

LXXIII. Have I been so long time with you ? — John xiv., 9 . . . 429
— — "LXXIV. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ. — Rom. viii.,

35-37 ... 435

LXXV. Man that is born of a woman. — Job xiv ,1,2. . . . 441

LXXVI. Christ a law-magnifying Saviour.— Isa. xlii., 18-21 . 444

> LXXVII. The obedience and disobedience of one. — Rom. v., 19 . . 450

LXXVIII. The Lord knoweth how to deliver.— 2 Pet. ii., 9 ... 456

LXXIX. Diligence necessary. — 2 Pet. iii., 14 459

LXXX. Follow the Lord fully.— Numb, xiv., 24 463

LXXXI. The unworthy communicant warned. — 1 Cor. xi., 29, 30 . 470

LXXXII. More blessed to give than to receive. — Acts xx., 35 . . 476

LXXXIII. Christ's silence under suffering.— Isa. liii., 7 . . . 482

LXXXI V. As the hart panteth after the water brooks.— Ps. xiii., 1 . 488

LXXXV. The fight of faith.— 2 Tim. iv., 7, 8 . . . . 494

LXXXVI. Into thine hand I commit my spirit. — Ps. xxxi.,5 . . . 497

LXXXVII. Grey hairs are upon him. — Hos. vii., 9 500

LXXXVIII Grieve not the Holy Spirit. — Eph. iv., 30 ... 505

LXXXIX. Ye will not come to me. — John v., 40 ... . 509

XC. Not ashamed of the Gospel.— Rom. i., 15-18 513

•

-
SERMONS, &c

SERMON I.

" Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh to
the Father but by me." — John xiv., 6.

IT is the saying of an old divine, that God often orders it, that
when he is in hand with the greatest mercies for us, then we are
most of all sinning against him ; which he doth to magnify his
love the more.

In the words I have read, we find an example of this. At no
time did the heart of Jesus overflow with a tenderer and a more
sovereign love to his disciples, than when he said, '• Let not your
heart be troubled." They were troubled by many things. He
hid told them that he was going to leave them ; he had told them
taat one should betray him ; that another should deny him ; that
*hey should all be offended because of him that very night ; and
perhaps they thought he was going from them in anger. But,
whatever the cause of their trouble was, Jesus.' s bosom was like a
vessel full to overflowing, and these words were the overlipping
drops of love — " Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in
God, believe also in me." Surely such words of confiding tender-
ness were never whispered in this cold world before ; and O
then, think how cold, how dark, how dull is the question with
which Thomas breaks in upon the heavenly discourse ; " Thomas
saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how
can we know the way ?" And yet how condescendingly does
Jesus bear with their cold-hearted dulness ! How lovingly does
he begin the very alphabet of salvation with them, and not only
answers, but over-answers Thomas — gives him more than he
could ask or think. He asked about the way and the place, but
Christ answers, " I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man
cometh unto the Father but by me." Regarding this, then, as a
complete description of the gospel salvation, let us go over the
different parts of it.

I. Christ is the Way. — " I am the way ; no man cometh," &c.
The whole Bible bears witness that by nature we have no way to

10 SERMON I.

the Father. We are by nature full of sin, and God is by nature
infinitely holy ; that is, he shrinks away from sin. Just as the
sensitive plant, by its very nature, shrinks away from the touch
of a human hand, so God, by his very nature, shrinks away from
the touch of sin. He is everlastingly separate from sinners ; he
is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.

1. This was impressively taught to Adam and the patriarchs.
As long as Adam walked holily, God dwelt in him, and walked in
him, and communed with him ; but when Adam fell, " God drove
the man out of paradise ; and he placed at the east of the garden
of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way
to keep the way of the tree of life." This flaming sword between
the cherubim was a magnificent emblem of God — the just and sin-
hating God. In the bush, he appeared to Moses as a consuming
fire — in the temple, he appeared between the cherubim in the
milder glory of the Shecinah ; but here he appeared between the
cherubim as a sword — a just and sin-hating God. And I beseech
you to remark, that this flaming sword turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life. If it had not turned every way, if it
had left some foot-path unglared across, then Adam might have
stolen in by that foot-path, and made his own way to the tree of
life. But no : whatever avenue he tried — however secret, how
ever narrow, however steep and difficult — however silently he
crept along, still this flaming meteor met him, and it seemed to
say, " How can man be just with God ? by the deeds of the law
there shall no flesh living be justified." Well might Adam sit
down, wearied with the vain search for a pathway into life ; for
man by nature has no way to the Father.

But Christ says, "lam the way." As he says in the 16th
Psalm, " Thou wilt show me the path of life." No man could find
out this path of life ; but Jesus says, " Thou wilt show it me ; in
thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy right hand are pleasures foi
evermore." Jesus pitied the poor SOLS of Adam vainly struggling
to find out a way into the paradise of God, and he left the bosom
of the Father, just that he might open up a way for us into the
bosom of the Father. And how did he do it? Was it by
escaping the vigilance of the flaming sword ? No ; for it turned
every way. Was it by exerting his divine authority, and com-
manding the glittering blade to withdraw ? No ; for that would
have been to dishonor his Father's law, instead of magnifying it.
He therefore became a man in our stead, yea, became sin. God
caused to meet on him the iniquities of us all. He advanced in
our stead to meet that fiery meteor ; he fell beneath its piercing
blade ; for he remembered the word of the Prophet, which is
written, " Awake, O sword ! against my shepherd, ard against
the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts."

And now, since the glittering blade is bathed in the side of the
Redeemer, th^ gniltjpet. of sinners, whoever you be, whatever you

SERMON I. It

be, may enter in over his bleeding body, may find access o the
paradise of God, to eat of the tree of life, and live for ever. Come
quickly — doubt not; lor he says, I am the way.

2. The same fact — that man has by nature no way to the
Father — was impressively taught to Moses and the people of
Israel.

When God condescended to dwell among the children of Israel,
he dwelt peculiarly in the holiest of all — the innermost apartment
of the Jewish temple. There the visible token of his presence
rested between the cherubim — at one time described to us as a
light inaccessible and full of glory — at another time as a cloud
that filled the temple. But this innermost apartment, or holiest of
all (or secret place, as it is called in the Psalms), was separated
from the holy place by a curtain or veil, and through that veil no
man was allowed to pass, lest he should die, except the High
Priest, who entered in, once in the year, not without blood.
Now, no picture could express more plainly that the way into the
holiest was not made manifest — that no sinful man has anyway oi
coming into the presence of God.

But Jesus says, " I am the way." Jesus was grieved that we
were shut out from the holiest of all, from the presence of God;
for he knew by experience that in that presence there is fulness oi
joy. But how did he upen the way ? Did he pull aside the veil,
that we might steal in secretly and easily into the presence of the
Father ? No : but he offered himself, an offering to satisfy Divine
justice, and reconcile us to God. " He said, It is finished, and
bowed his head and gave up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of
the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom." It is
finished ; the punishment of the law is borne, the demands of the
law are answered, the way is finished, the veil is rent, from the
top to the bottom ! Not a shred of the dreadful curtain now re-
mains to intercept us. The guiltiest, the vilest sinner of you all,
has now liberty to enter in through the rent veil, under the light
of Jehovah's countenance, to dwell in the secret of his tabernacle,
to behold his beauty, and to inquire in his temple.

And now, my friends, is this your way of coming to the Father ?
Christ says, " 1 am the way ; no man cometh unto the Father but
by me." If, then, you will still keep to your own way, whatever
it may be, whether it be the way of tears, or penances, or vows
of amendment, or hopes that God will not deal strictly — if you
will not be warned, you will find in the judgment-day that the
cherubic sword turned every way, and that you are left a prey to
the consuming fire.

But oh ! if there be one soul that can find no peace in any self-
righteous way, if there be one of you who finds that you are lost
in yourself, behold Christ says to you, " I am the way," as he
Bays in another place, " I am the door." It is a full, free, and open
way, and it is a way for sinners. Why wait a moment longer?

12 SERMON I

There wns once a partition wall between you and God ; but
Christ hath cast it down. God was once angry ; but his anger is
turned away from the blessed path. In Christ he is ever well
pleased.

II. Christ is the Truth. — The whole Bible, and the whole of
experience, bear witness that by nature we are ignorant of the
truth. No doubt there are many truths which an unconverted
man docs know. He may know the truths of mathematics and
arithmetic, he may know many of the common every-day truths ;
but still it cannot be said that an unconverted man knows the
truth, for Christ is the truth. Christ may be called the key-stone
of the arch of truth. Take away the key-stone of an arch, and the
whole becomes a heap of rubbish. The very same stones may be
there, but they are all fallen, smothered, and confused, without
order, without end. Just so; take Christ away, and the whole
arch of truth becomes a heap of rubbish. The very same truths
may be there ; but they are all fallen, without coherence, without
order, without end. Christ may be called the sun of the system
of truth. Take away the sun out of our system, and every planet
would rush into confusion. The very same planets would be
there ; but their conflicting forces would draw them hither and
thither, orb dashing against orb in endless perplexity. Just so ;
take Christ away, and the whole system of truth rushes into con-
fusion. The same truths may be in the mind, but all conflicting
and jarring in inextricable mazes ; for " the path of the wicked is
as darkness ; they know not at what they stumble." But let
Christ be revealed to an unconverted soul, let it not be merely a
man speaking about Christ unto him, but let the spirit of God reveal
him, and there is revealed, not a truth, but the truth. You put
the key-stone into the arch of truth ; you restore the sun to he
centre of the system. All truth becomes orderly and serviceable
in that mind.

Now he knows the truth with regard to himself. Did the Son
of God really leave the bosom of the Father to bear wrath in our
stead ? then I must be under wrath. Did the Lord Jesus become
a servant, that he might obey the will of God instead of sinners ?
then 1 must be without any righteousness — a child of disobedi-
ence.

Again, knowing Christ, he knows the truth with regard to God.
Did God freely give up his Son to the death for us all ? then, if I
believe in Jesus, there is no condemnation to me. God is my Fa-
ther, and God is love.

My friends, have you seen Christ, who is the truth ? Has he
been revealed to you, not my flesh and blood, but by the Spirit of
our God ? Then you know how true it is that in him " are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" — that he is the " Alpha
and Omega," the beginning and the ending of all knowledge. But

SERMON I. 13

if you have not seen Christ, then you know nothing yet as you
ought to know ; all your knowledge is like a bridge without a key-
stone, like a system without a sun. What good will it do you in
hell, that you knew all the sciences in the world, all the events of
history, and all the busy politics of your little day ? Do you not
know that your very knowledge will be turned into an instrument
of torture in hell ? Oh, how will you wish in that day that you
had read your newspaper less and your Bible more ; that with all
your getting you had got understanding ; that with all your know-
ledge you had known the Saviour, whom to know is life everlast-
ing.

III. Christ is the Life. — The whole Bible bears witness that by
nature we are dead in trespasses and sins — that we are as unable
to walk holily in the world as a dead man is unable to rise and
walk.

Both Scripture and experience alike testify that we are by na-
ture dead in trespasses and sins ; and yet it is not a death in which
we are wholly inactive, for in it we are said to walk according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air.

This truth is taught us impressively in that vision of the prophet
Ezekiel, where he was carried out by the Spirit, and set down in
the midst of an open valley, full of dry bones ; and as he passed by
them round about, behold there were very many in the open val-
ley, and lo ! they were very dry.

Just such is the view which every child of God gets of the
world. The dry bones are very many, and they are very dry ;
and he asks the same question which God asked of Ezekiel — " Can
these bones live?" Oh yes, my friends ; and does not experience
teach you the same thing. True, the dead cannot know that they
are dead ; and yet, if the Lord touch your heart, you will find it
out: we prophesy to dry bones ; for this is the Lord's way; while
we prophesy the breath enters in. Look back over your life then.
See how you have walked according to the course of this world.
You have always been like a man swimming with the stream,
never like a man swimming against the current. Look into your
heart, and see how it has turned against all the commandments ;
you feel the Sabbath to be a weariness — instead of calling it a de-
light and honorable. If ever you tried to keep the commandments
of God ; if ever you tried to keep your eyes from unlawful desires,
your tongue from words of anger, or gossiping, or bitterness, your
heart from malice, and envy, and covetousness ; if ever you have
tried this, and I fancy most unconverted men have tried it : if ever
you have tried this, did you rvot find it impossible ? It was like
raising the dead. Did you not find a struggle against ycurself?
O how plain that you are dead — not born again. Marvel not that
we say unto you, ye must be born again. You must be joined to

14 1 *ERMON II.

Christ, for Christ is the life. Suppose it were possible for a dead
limb to be joined into a living body, so completely that all the veins
should receive the pjjjale tide of living blood ; suppose bone to
join on to bone, and sinew to sinew, and nerve to nerve, do you
not see that that limb, however dead before, would become a living
limb. Before, it was cold, and stiff, and motionless, and full of
corruption; now, it is warm and pliable, and full of life and mo-
tion. It is a living limb, because joined on to that which is life.
Or, suppose it possible for a withered branch to be grafted into a
living vine, so completely that all the channels should receive the
flow of the generous sap, do you not see that that branch, how-
ever dead before, becomes a living branch ? Before, it was dry,
and fruitless, and withered ; now, it is full of sap, of life, and viiror.
It is a living branch, for it is joined to the vine, which is its life.
Well, then, just in the same way, Christ is the life of every soul
that cleaves to him. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
Is your soul like a dead limb — cold, stiff, motionless, and full of
corruption ? Cleave you to Christ ; be joined to him by faith, nnd
you shall be one spirit ; you shall be made warm, and vigorous,
and full of activity, in God's service.

Is your soul like a withered branch, dry, fruitless, and withered,
wanting both leaves and fruit ? Cleave you to Christ ; be joined
to him, and you shall be one spirit. You will find it true that
Christ is the life ; your life will be hid with Christ in God. You
will say, I live ; "yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me."

Remember, then, my unbelieving friends, the only way for you
to become holy is to become united to Christ. And remembei
you, my believing friends, that if ever you are relaxing in holiness.
the reason is, you are relaxing your hold on Christ. Abide in rue,
and I in you, so shall ye bear much fruit. Severed from me, ye
can do nothing.
Dundee, 1836.

SERMON II.

" Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.'' — Heb. lii. 1.

WHEN a traveller passes very rapidly through a country, the eye
has no time to rest upon the different objects in it, so that, when
he comes to the end of his journey, no distinct impressions have
been made upon his mind ; he has only a confused notion of the
country through which he has travelled.

This explains how it is that death, judgment, eternity, make so

SERMON II. 15

ittle impression upon most men's minds. Most people never stop
to think, but hurry on through life, and find themselves in eternitv
before they have once put the question, " What must I do to be
saved ?" More souls are lost through want of consideration than
in any other way.

The reason why men are not awakened and made anxious for
their souls is, that the devil never gives them time to consider.
Therefore God cries, Stop, poor sinner, stop and think. Consider
your ways. " O that you were wise, that you understood this,
that you considered your latter end." And, again, he cries, " Israel
doth not know, my people doth not consider."

In the same way does the devil try to make the children of God
doubt if there be a Providence. He hurries them away to the
shop and market. Lose no time, he says, but make money.
Therefore God cries, Stop, poor sinner, stop and think ; and Jesus
says, " Consider the lilies of the field how they grow ; consider
the ravens, which have neither storehouse nor barn."

In the same way does the Devil try to make the children of
God live uncomfortable and unholy lives. He beguiles them away
from simply looking to Jesus : he hurries them away to look at a
thousand other things, as he led Peter, walking on the sea, to look
round at the waves. But God says, Look here, consider the Apos-
tle and High Priest of your profession : look unto me, and be ye
saved ; run your race, looking unto Jesus ; consider Christ, the
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

I. Believers should live in daily consideration of the greatness
and glory of Christ.

(1.) There was once a time when time was not ; when there
was no earth, neither sun. nor moon, nor star ; a time when you
might have wandered through all space, and never found a rest-
ing place to the sole of your foot ; when you would have found
no creatures anywhere, but God everywhere ; when there were
no angels with golden harps hymning celestial praises; bat God
alone was all in all.

Question. Where was Jesus then ? Ans. He was with God.
" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God"
He was near to God, and in perfect happiness there. " The Lord
possessed me in the beginning of his way ; before his works of
old. Then I was by him as one brought up with him ; and I was
daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." He was in the
bosom of God ; " The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of
the Father." He was in perfect glory there : " O Father, glorify
thou me with thyself, with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was."

Ques. What was Jesus then? Ans. He was God. The Word
was with God, and " was God." He was equal with the Father.
" He thought it no robbery to be equal with God." He was rich.

Itf SERMON II.

" He was the brightness of his Father's glory and the express
image of his person."

Now, brethren, could I lift you away to that time when God
was alone from all eternity. Could I have shown you the glory
of Jesus then, how he dwelt in the bosom of the Father, and was
daily his delight ; and could I have told you " That is the glorious
being who is to undertake the cause of poor lost sinners ; that is
he who is going to put himself in their room and stead, to suffer
all they should suffer, and obey all they should obey ; consider
Jesus ; look long and earnestly ; weigh every consideration in the
balance of the soundest judgment ; consider his rank, his near-
ness, his dearness to God the Father ; consider his power, his glory,
his equality to the Father in everything ; consider, and say, do
you think you would intrust your case to him ? Do you think
he would be a sufficient Saviour ?" O brethren, would not every
soul cry out, He is enough, I want no other Saviour ?

(•2.) Again, there was a time when this world sprang into
being ; when the sun began to shine, and earth and seas began to
smile. There was a time when myriads of happy angels spring-
ing into being, first spread their wings, doing his commandments ,
when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy.

Ques. What was Jesus doing then ? Ans. " Without him was
not anything made that was made." " By him were all things
created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invi-
sible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
powers : all things were created by him and for him." O bre-
thren, could I lift you away back to that wonderful day, and show
you Jesus calling all the angels into being, hanging the earth
upon nothing ; could you have heard the voice of Jesus saying,
Let there be light, and there was light ; and could I have told
you, " That is he who is yet to undertake for sinners ; consider
him, and see if you think he will be a sufficient Saviour ; look long
and earnestly ;" good news, good news for sinners, if this mighty
being undertake for us ! I can as little doubt the sureness and
completeness of my salvation as 1 can doubt the sureness of the
solid earth beneath my feet.

(3.) But the work of creation is long since passed. Jesus has
been upon our earth. And now he is not here ; he is risen.
Eighteen hundred years and more have passed since Christ was
upon the earth.

Ques. Where is Jesus now ? Ans. " He is set down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high." He is upon the throne with
God in his glorified body, and his throne is for ever. A sceptre
is put into his hand, a sceptre of righteousness, and the oil of glad-
ness is poured over him. All power is given to him in heaven
and on earth.

O brethren, could you and I pass this day through these hea-

SERMON II. 17

vens, and see what is now going on in the sanctuary above, could
you see what the child of God now sees who died last night ;
could you see the Lamb with the scars of his five deep wounds in
the very midst of the throne, surrounded by all the redeemed,
every one having harps and golden vials full of odors ; could
you see the many angels round about the throne, whose number
is ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
all singing, Worthy is the " Lamb that was slain ;" and were one
of these angels to tell you, " This is he that undertook the cause of
lost sinners ; he undertook to bear their curse and to do their
obedience ; he undertook to be the second Adam, the man in their
stead, and lo ! there he is upon the throne of heaven ; consider
him ; look long and earnestly upon his wounds, upon his glory,
and tell me do you think it would be safe to trust him ? Do you
think his sufferings and obedience will have been enough ?" Yes,
yes, every soul exclaims, Lord, it is enough ! Lord, stay thy
hand ! Show me no more, for I can bear no more. Or rather
let me ever stand and gaze upon the Almighty, all-worthy, all-
divine Saviour, till my soul drink in complete assurance that his
work undertaken for sinners is a finished work. Yes, though the
sins of all the world were on my one wicked head, still I could
not doubt that his work is complete, and that 1 am quite safe
whrn I believe in him.

/ would now plead with believers. Some of you have really
been brought by God to believe in Jesus. Yet you have no
abiding peace, and very little growing in holiness. Why is this ?
It is because your eye is fixed anywhere but on Christ. You are
so busy looking at books, or looking at men, or looking at the
world, that you have no time, no heart, for looking at Christ.

No wonder you have little peace and joy in believing. No
wonder you live so inconsistent and unholy a life. Change your
plan. Consider the greatness and glory of Christ, who has under-
taken all in the stead of sinners, and you would find it quite impos-
sible to walk in darkness, or to walk in sin. O what mean, despi-
cable thoughts you have of the glorious Immanu;-! ! Lift your
eyes from your own bosom, downcast believer ; look upon Jesus.
It is good to consider your ways, but it is far better to consider
Christ.

/ would now invite anxious souls. Anxious soul ! have you
understood all the glory of Christ ? Have you understood that
he undertook for guilty sinners ? And do you doubt if he be a
sufficient Saviour ? Oh, what mean views you have of Christ if
you dare not risk your soul upon him ?

Objection. I do not doubt that Christ has suffered and done
quite enough, but I fear it was for others, and not for me. If 1
were sure it was for me, I would be quite happy. Ans. It is no-
where said in the Bible, that Christ died for this sinner or that sin-
ner. If you are waiting till you find your own name in the Bible,
9.

iO SERMON II.

you will wait for ever. But it is said a. few verses before that
" He tasted death for every man ;" and again, " He is the propi-
tiation for the sins of the whole, world." Not that all men are
saved by him. Ah, no ; the most never come to Jesus, and are
lost ; but this shows that any sinner may come, even the chief of
sinners, and take Christ as his own Saviour. Come you, then,
anxi3us soul; say you, He is my refuge and my fortress! and
then, be anxious if you can.

II. Consider Christ as the Apostle, or Messenger of God.

The word Apostle means messenger; one ordained and sent or
a particular embassy. Now Christ is an Apostle, for God ordain-
ed and sent him into the world.

In the Old Testament, the name by which he is oftenest called
is the Angel of the Lord, or the Messenger of the Covenant. He
is called God's Elect, chosen for the work ; he is called God's ser-
vant ; he is called the Messiah, or the Christ, or the Anointed,
because God anointed him and sent him to the work. In the New
Testament, over and over again Christ calls himself, the sent of
God. " As thou hast sent me into the world, so have I sent them
into the world, that the world may know that thou hast sent me."
"And these have known that thou hast sent me." All this shows
plainly that it is not the Son alone who is interested in the saving
of poor sinners, but the Father also. " The Father sent his Son to
be the Saviour of the world."

Objection. — True, Christ is a great and glorious Saviour, and
able to accomplish anything to save poor sinners ; but perhaps
God the Father may not agree to pour out his wrath upon his
Sou, or to accept of his Son as a surety in our stead. Ans. Look
here, Christ is the Apostle of God. It is as much God the Fa.
ther's work, as it is Christ's work. It occupied as much of the heart
of God as ever it did of the heart of Christ. God loved the world,
as much and truly as ever Christ loved the world. God gave his
Son, as much as Christ gave himself for us. So, God the Holy
Spirit is as much interested in it as the Father and Son. God
gave his Son ; the Spirit anointed him and dwelt in him without
measure. At his baptism God acknowledged him for his beloved
Son ; the Holy Spirit came on him like a dove.

O brethren, could I lift you away to the eternity that is past
could I bring you into the council of the eternal Three, and as il
was once said, " Let us make man ;" could 1 let you hear the word,
" Let us save man ;" could I show you how God from all eternity
designed his Son to undertake for poor sinners ; how it was the
very plan and the bottommost desire of the heart of the Fathei
that Jesus should come into the world and do and die in the stead
of sinners ; how the Holy Spirit breathed sweetest incense, and
dropped like holiest oil upon the head of the descending Saviour ;
could I show you the intense interest with which the eye of God

SERMON II. 19

followed Jesus through his whole course of sorrow, and suffering
and death ; could 1 show you the anxious haste with which God
rolled away the stone from the sepulchre while it was yet dark,
for he would not leave his soul in hell, neither suffer his Holy One
to see corruption ; could I show you the ecstasies of love and joy
that beat in the bosom of the infinite God when Jesus ascended to
his Father and our Fataer; how he welcomed him with a fulness
of kindness and grace which God alone could give, and God alone
could receive, saying, " Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee ; thou art indeed worthy to be called my Son ; never till this
day wast thou so worthy to be called mine; thy throne, OGod,
is for ever and ever ; sit thou on my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool." O sinner, will you ever doubt any more
whether God the Father be seeking thy salvation, whether the
heart of Christ and of his Father be the same in this one grand
controversy? O believer, consider this Apostle of God ; meditate
on these things; look and look again, until your peace be like a
river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea, till the
breathing of your soul be, Abba, Father !

III. Consider Christ as the High Priest of our profession.

The duty of the High Priest was twofold — 1st, to make Atone
ment ; 2d, to make Intercession.

When the High Priest slew the goat at the altar of burnt-offer-
ings, he did it in presence of all the people, to make atonement for
them. They all stood around gazing and considering their High
Priest : and when he gathered the blood into the golden basin, and
put on the white garments, and passed away from their sight within
the veil, their eye followed him, till the mysterious curtain hid him
from their sight. But even then the heart of the believing Jew
followed him still. Now he is drawing near to God for us, now
he is sprinkling the blood seven times before the mercy-seat, say-
ing, Let this blood be instead of our blood ; now he is praying
for us.

Brethren, let us also consider our great High Priest.

(1.) Consider him making Atonement. — You cannot look at him
on the cross as the disciples did — you cannot see the blood stream-
ing from his five deep wounds — you cannot see him shedding his
blood that the blood of sinners might not be shed Yet still, if
God spare us, you may see bread broken and wine poured out, a
living picture of the dying Saviour. Now, brethren, the atone-
ment has been made, Christ has died, his sufferings are all past.
And how is it that you do not enjoy peace ? It is because you do
not consider. " Israel doth not know, my people doth not con-
sider." Consider: has Jesus died in the stead of guilty sinners,
and do you heartily consent to take Jesus to be the man in your
stead ? then, you do not need to die. O happy believer, rejoice
evermore. Live within sight of Calvary, and you will live within

20 SERMON III.

sight of glory ; and, O rejoice in the happy ordinance that sets a
broken Saviour so plainly before you.

(••>.) Consider Christ as making Intercession. — When Christ
n-51-ended from the Mount of Olives, and passed through these
heavens, carrying his bloody wounds into the presence of God .
and when his disciples had gazed after him, till a cloud received
him out of their sight, we are told that they returned to Jerusalem
with great joy. What ! are they joyful at parting with theii
blessed Master ? When he told them he was to leave them, sor
row filled their hearts, and he had to argue with them and comfort
tht m. saying, Let not your heart be troubled ; it is expedient tor
you that I go away. How, then, are they changed ! Jesus has
left them, and they are filled with joy. Oh ! here is the secret,
they knew that Christ was now going into the presence of God
for them, that their great High Priest was now entering within the
veil to make intercession for them.

Now, believer, would you share in the great joy of the disci-
ples? Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession,
Christ Jesus. He is above yon clouds, and above yon sky. O
that you would stand gazing ug into heaven, not with the bodily
eye, but with the eye of faith. Oh ! what a wonderful thing the
eye of faith is: it sees beyond the stars, it pierces to the throne of
God, and there it looks on the face of Jesus making intercession
for us, whom having not seen we love, in whom, though now \ve
see him not, yet believing we rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory.

Oh ! if you would live thus, what sweet peace would fill your
bosom ! And how many droppings of the Spirit would come
down on you in answer to the Saviour's prayer. Oh ! how your
face would shine like Stephen ; and the poor blind world would
Bee that there is a joy which the world cannot give, and the world
cannot take away, a heaven upon earth.

Dundee, 1836.

SERMON III.

" As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple-tree
among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down un-
der his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet unto my taste." —
Song of Solomon ii., 2, 3.

IF an unconverted man were taken away into heaven, where
Christ sits in glory, and if he overheard Christ's words of admir-
ing love towards the believer, he could not understand them, he
could not comprehend how Christ should see a loveliness in poor
religious people whom he in the bottom of his heart despised. Or
again, if an unconverted man were to overhear a Christian at his

SERMON III. 21

devotions when he is really within the yeil, and were to listen to
his words of admiring, adoring love towards Christ, he could no!
possibly understand them, he could not comprehend how the be-
liever should have such a burning affection towards one unseen, in
whom he himself saw no form nor comeliness. So true it is that
the natural man knoweth not the things of the Spirit of God, for
they are foolishness unto him. There may be some now hearing me
who have a rooted dislike to religious people, they are so stiff, so
precise, so gloomy, you cannot endure their company. Well then,
see here what Christ thinks of them, " As the lily among thorns, so
is my love among the daughters." How different you are from
Christ ! There may be some hearing me who have no desires after
Jesus Christ, who never think of him with pleasure ; you see no form
nor comeliness in him, no beauty that you should desire him ; you
do not love the melody of his name ; you do not pray to him con-
tinually. Well then, see here what the believer thinks of him,
how different from you — " As the apple-tree among the trees of
the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. 1 sat down under
his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
O that you would be awakened by this very thing, that you are so
different from Christ, and so different from the believer, to think
that you must be in a natural condition, you must be under wrath
Doctrine. — The believer is unspeakably precious in the eyes of
Christ, and Christ is unspeakably precious in the eyes of the be-
liever.

I. Inquire what Christ thinks of the believer — " As the lily
among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters."

Christ sees nothing so fair in all this world as the believer. All
the rest of the world is like thorns, but the believer is like a beau-
tiful lily in his eyes. When you are walking in a wilderness all
overgrown w^th briers and thorns, if your eye falls upoji some
lonely flower, tall and white, and pure and graceful, growing in
the midst of the thorns, it looks peculiarly beautiful. If it were
in the midst of some rich garden among many other flowers, then
it would not be so remarkable ; but when it is encompassed with
thorns on every side, then it engages the eye. Such is the believer
in the eyes of Christ. " As the lily among thorns, so is my love
among the daughters."

(1.) See what Christ thinks of the unconverted world. It is
like a field full of briers and thorns in his eyes. 1. Because fruit-
less. " Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" So
Christ gets no fruit from the unconverted world. It is all one wide,
thorny waste. 2. Because, when the word is preached among
them, it is like sowing among thorns. " Break up your fallow-
ground and sow not among thorns." When the sower sowed,
some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked
them ; so is preaching to the unconverted. 3. Because their end

22 SERMON III

will be like that of thorns ; -they are dry and fit only for the burning
"As thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire." " For the
earth, which is often rained upon and only bears thorns and briers,
is rejected, and nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned."
My friends, if you are in a Christian state, see what you are in
the eyes of Christ — thorns. You think that you have many ad
mirable qualities, that you are valuable members of society, and
you have a hope that it shall be well with you in eternity. See
what Christ says — you are thorns and briers, useless in this world,
and fit only for the burning.

(2.) See what Christ thinks of the believer. " As the lily among
thorns so is my love among the daughters." The believer is like
a lovely flower in the eyes of Christ. 1. Because, justified in the
eyes of Christ, washed in his blood, he is pure and white as a lily.
Christ can see no spot in his own righteousness, and therefore he
sees no spot on the believer. Thou art all fair, my love, as a lily
among thorns so is my love. 2. A believer's nature is changed.
Once he was like the barrpn, prickly thorn, fit only for burning;
now Christ has put a new spirit in him ; the dew has been given
to him, and he grows up like the lily. Christ loves the new crea-
ture. " All my delight is in them." " As the lily among thorns so
is my love among the daughters." Are you a Christian? then
never mind though the world despise you, though they call you
names ; remember Christ loves you, he calls you " my love."
Abide in him, and you shall abide in his love. If ye continu- in
my word, then are ye rny disciples indeed. 3. Because so lonely
in the world. Observe, there is but one lily, but many thorns.
There is a great wilderness all full of thorns, and only one lonely
flower. So there is a world lying in wickedness, and a little rlock
that believe in Jesus. Some believers are cast down because they
feel solitary and alone. If I be in the right way. surely I would
not be so lonely. Surely the wise, and the amiable* and the kind
people I see round about me, surely, if there were any truth in re-
ligion, they would know it. Be not cast down. It is one of the
marks of Christ's people that they are alone in the world, and yet
they are not alone. It is one of the very beauties which Christ
sees in his people, that they are solitary among a world of thorns.
" As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters."
Do not be discouraged. This world is the world of loneliness.
When you are transplanted to y>n garden of God, then you shall
be no more lonely, then you shall be away from all the thorns.
As flowers in a rich garden blend together their thousand odors
to enrich the passing breeze, so, in the paradise above, you shall
join the thousands of the redeemed blending with theirs the odor
of your praise. You shall join with the redeemed as living flow-
ers to form a garland for the Redeemer's brow.

II. Inquire what the believer thinks of Christ. — "As the apple-

SERMON III. 03

tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the
sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his
fruit was sweet to my taste.*'

1. Christ is more precious than all other saviours in the eye ot
the believer. As a traveller prefers an apple-tree to every other
tree of the wood, because he finds both shelter and nourishing
food under it, so the believer prefers Christ to all other saviours.
When a man is travelling in eastern countries, he is often like to
drop down under the burning rays of the sun. It is a great relief
when he comes to a wood. When Israel were travelling in the
wilderness, they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water,
and seventy palm-trees, and they encamped there by the water.
They were glad of the shelter of the trees. So Micah says that
God's people " dwell solitarily in the wood ;" and Ezekiel promises
"they shall sleep in the woods."

But if the traveller be hungry and faint for lack of food, then
he will not be content with any tree of the wood, but he will
choose out a fruit tree, under which he may sit down and find
nourishment as well as shade. He sees a fair apple-tree — he
chooses it out of all the trees of the wood, because he can both sit
under its shadow and eat its pleasant fruits. S j is it with the soul
awakened by God. He feels under the heat of God's anger ; he
is in a weary land ; he is brought into the wilderness ; he is like
to perish ; he comes to a wood ; many trees offer their shade ;
where shall he sit down ? Under the fir-tree ? alas ! what fruit
has it to give ? he may die there. Under the cedar tree, with its
mighty branches ? alas ! he may perish there ; for it has no fruit
to give. The soul that is taught of God seeks for a complete
Saviour. The apple-tree is revealed to the soul. The hungry
soul chooses that evermore. He needs to be saved from hell and
nourished for heaven. " As the apple-tree among the trees of the
wood, so is my beloved among the sons."

Awakened souls, remember you must not sit down under every
tree that offers itself. " Take heed that no one deceive you ; for
many shall come in Christ's name, saying, I am Christ, and deceive
many." There are many ways of saying peace, peace, when
there is no peace. You will be tempted to find peace in the world,
in self-repentance, in self-reformation. Remember, choose you a
tree that will yield fruit as well as shade. " As the apple-tree
among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons."
Pray for a choosing faith. Pray for an eye to discern the apple-
tree. Oh ! there is no rest for the soul except under that Branch
which God has made strong. My heart's desire and prayer for
you is, that you may all find rest there.

2. Why has the believer so high an esteem of Chnst ?

Ans. (1.) Because he has made trial of Christ. " I sat down
under his shadow with great delight." All true believers have
sat down under the shadow of Christ. Some people think thai

24 SERMON III.

Ihey shall be saved because they have got a head-knowledge of
Christ. They read of Christ in the Bible, they hear of Christ in
the house of God, and they think that is to be a Christian. Alas ,
my friends, what good would you get from an apple-tree, if I were
only to describe it to you ; tell you how beautiful it was, how
heavily laden with deficious apples ? Or, if I were only to show
you a picture of the tree, or if I were to show you the tree itself
at a distance, what the better would you be ? You would not
get the good of its shade or its pleasant fruit. Just so, dear
Brethren, what good will you get from Christ, if you only hear
of him in books and sermons, or if you see him pictured forth in
the sacrament, or if you were to see him with your bodily eye ?
What good would all this do, if you do not sit down under his
shadow ? O my friends, there must be a personal sitting down
under the shadow of Christ, if you would be saved. Christ is the
bush that has been burned yet not consumed. Oh ! it is a safe
place for a hell-deserving sinner to rest.

Some may be hearing me who can say, " I sat down under his
shadow." And yet you have forsaken him. Ah ! have you gone
alter your lovers, and away from Christ ? Well, then, may God
hedge up your way with thorns. Return, return, O Shulamite !
There is no other refuge for your soul. Come and sit down again
under the shadow of the Saviour.

Ans. (2.) Because he sat down with great delight.

1st. Some people think there is no joy in religion, it is a
gloomy thing. When a young person becomes a Christian, they
would say, Alas ! he must bid farewell to pleasure, farewell to
the joys of youth, farewell to a merry heart. He must exchange
these pleasures for reading of the Bible and dry sermon-books,
for a life of gravity and preciseness. This is what the world
says. What does the Bible say 1 "I sat down under his shadow
with great delight." Ah ! let God be true, and every man a liar.
Yet no one can believe this except those who have tried it. Ah !
be not deceived, my young friends ; the world has many sensual
and «nany sinful delights; the delights of eating and drinking, and
wearing gay clothes ; the delights of revelry and the dance. No
man of wisdom will deny that these things are delightful to the
natural heart ; but oh ! they perish in the using, and they end in
an eternal hell. But to sit down under the shadow of Christ,
wearied with God's burning anger, wearied with seeking after
va.n saviours, at last to find rest under the shadow of Christ, ah !
this is great delight. Lord, evermore may I sit under this shadow !
Lord, evermore may I be filled with this joy !

2d. Some people are afraid of anything like joy in religion.
They have none themselves, and they do not love to see it in
others. Their religion is something like the stars, very high, and
very clear, but very cold. When they see tears of anxiety, or
tears of joy., they cry out, Enthusiasm, enthusiasm ! Well, then.

SERMON HI. 25

to the Law and to the Testimony. " I sat down under his shadow
with great delight" Is this enthusiasm ? O Lord, evermore give
us this enthusiasm ! May the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing ! If it be really in sitting under the shadow
of Christ, let there be no bounds to your joy. O if God would
but open your eyes, and give you simple, child-like faith, to look
to Jesus, to sit under his shadow, then would songs of joy rise
from all our dwellings. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again,
I say, rejoice !

3d. Because the fruit of Christ is sweet to the taste. All true
believers not only sit under the shadow, but partake of his
pleasant fruits ; just as when you sit under an apple-tree, the fruit
hangs above you and around you, and invites you to" put out the
hand and taste ; so, when you come to submit to the righteousness
of God, bow your head, and sit down under Christ's shadow, all
other things are added unto you. First, Temporal mercies are
sweet to the taste. None but those of you who are Christians
know this, when you sit under the shadow of Christ's temporal
mercies, because covenant mercies. " Bread shall be given you ;
your water shall be sure." These are sweet apples from the tree
Christ. O Christian, tell me, is not bread sweeter when eaten
thus ? Is not water richer than wine ? and Daniel's pulse better
than the dainties of the King's table 1 Second, Afflictions are
sweet to the taste. Every good apple has some sourness in it.
So it is with the apples of the tree Christ. He gives afflictions as
well as mercies. He sets the teeth on edge ; but even these are
blessings in disguise — they are covenant gifts. Oh ! affliction is a
dismal thing when you are not under his shadow. But are you
Ch. 'stums? look on your sorrows as apples from that blessed tree.
If you knew how wholesome they are, you would not wish to
want them. Several of you know it is no contradiction to say,
these apples, though sour, are sweet to my taste. Third,* The
gifts of the Spirit are sweet to the taste. Ah ! here is the best
fruit that grows on the tree : here are the ripest apples from the
topmost branch. You who are Christians know how often your
soul is fainting. Well, here is nourishment to your fainting soul.
Everything you need is in Christ. " My grace is sufficient for
thee." Dear Christian, sit much under that tree — feed much upon
that fruit. " Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples, for I
am sick of love." Fourth, Promises of glory. Some of the
apples have a taste of heaven in them. Feed upon these, dear
Christians. Some of Christ's apples give you a relish for the fruit
of Canaan — for the clusters of Eshcol. Lord, evermore gi^e me
these apples ; for oh ! they are sweet to mv taste

St. Peter's, 1837

26 SERMON IV.

SERMON IV.

•• A sword, a sword is sharpened, and a^so furbished : it is sharpened to make •
sore slaughter ; it is furbished that it may glitter ; should we then make mirtrt f
it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree." — Ezek. xxi., 9, 10.

FROM the second verse of this chapter, we learn that this prophecy
was directed against Jerusalem ; •« Son of man, set thy face
toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places,
and prophesy against the land of Israel."

We have already told you that Ezekiel, while yet a youth, was
carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar, and placed, with a number of
his countrymen, by the river of Chcbar. It was there that he de-
livered his prophecies during a space of twenty-two years. The
prophecy I have read was delivered in the seventh year of his
captivity, and just three years before Jerusalem was destroyed,
and the temple burnt. From verse 2, we learn that these words
were directed against Jerusalem, for though God had taken
Ezekiel away to minister to the captives by the river of Chebar,
yet he made him send many a message of warning and of mercy
to his beloved Jerusalem. " Son of man, set thy face toward
Jerusalem, and drop thy word towards the holy places, and pro-
phesy against the land of Israel."

God had already fulfilled many of the words of his prophets
against Jerusalem. He had fulfilled the word of Jeremiah against
one of their kings (Jehoiakim). " He shall be buried with the
burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the walls of Jerusa-
lem." He had fulfilled the word of the same prophet in carrying
another king (Jehoiakin) to Babylon with all the goodly vessels of
the house of the Lord. But still, neither prophecies nor judgments
would awaken Jerusalem ; so that we are told (2 Chron. xxxvi.,
12) that Zedekiah the next king, "did that which was evil in the
sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jere-
miah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord." V. 14.
M Moreover, all the chief of the priests and the people transgressed
very much, after all the abominations of the heathen ; and polluted
the house of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And
the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers,
rising up betimes, and sending ; because he had compassion on
his people, and on his dwelling-place: But they mocked the mes-
sengers of God. and despised his words, and misused his prophets,
until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was
no remedy."

It was in a time of great hardness and impenitence in Jerusa-
lem that the prophecy before me was delivered, and just three
years before the wrath of God was poured on them to the utter-
most. (1). All was mirth and sensuality in Jerusalem. (2). The

SERMON IV. 27

false prophets prophesied peace, and the people loved to have it
so. (3.) There was no noise but that of revelry within the devoted
city. But in the midst of that din and revelry, the lone prophet
by the river of Chebar heard the muttering of the distant thunder.
The faithful servant of God saw God arming himself as a mighty
man for the war, and the glittering sword of vengeance in his
hand, and he calls aloud to his countrymen, all at ease, with
awakening thunders, " A sword, a sword is sharpened and also
furbished ; it is sharpened to make a sore slaughter ; it is furbish-
ed that it may glitter ; should we then make mirth ?"

My friends, those of you who are unconverted are in the very
same situation as Jerusalem was. In the years that are now fled,
like the mists of the morning, how many messages have you had
from God ? How many times has he sent his messengers to you,
rising up early and sending them ? His Bible has been in your
houses, a silent, but more mighty pleader for God ; his providence
has been in your families, in sickness and death, in plenty or
poverty, all, all beseeching you to flee from the wrath to come ;
all, all beseeching you to cleave to the Lord Jesus, the only, the
all-sufficient Saviour. All these messages have come to you, and
you are yet unconverted, still dead, dry bones, without Christ and
without God in the world ; and you are saying, Soul, take thine
ease, eat and drink, and be merry. But do, my friends, hearken
once more, for God does not wish any to perish. I have a word
from God unto thee, " A sword, a sword is sharpened and also fur-
bished ; it is sharpened to make a sore slaughter ; it is furbished
that it may glitter ; should we then make mirth ?"

Doctrine. — It is very unreasonable in unconverted persons to
make mirth.

1. It is unreasonable, because they are under condemnation.—
The sword is sharpened and also furbished. It is sharpened to
make a sore slaughter ; it is furbished that it may glitter. Should
we then make mirth ? There is a common idea thai' men are
under probation, as Adam was, and that Christless persons will not
be condemned till the judgment ; but this is not the case. The
Bible s:iys, " He that believeth not is condemned already." " He
that hath not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abideth on him." " Cursed is every one (not shall be) who con-
tinurth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them."
Christless souls are at present in the horrible pit, every mouth is
stopped, and they are guilty before God. They are in prison,
ready to be brought out to execution. Therefore, when God
Bends us to preach to Christless persons he calls it " preaching to
the spirits in prison,"* that is, who are under condemnation. The

• I believe he afterwards understood 1 Peter Hi., 19, to mean " the spirits who
are now in prison "

28 SERMON IV.

sword is not only unsheathed, it is sharpened and furbished. It is
held over their heads.

Should they then make mirth ? It is unreasonable in a con-
demned malefactor to make mirth. Would it not greatly shock
every feeling mind to see a company of men condemned to die,
meeting and making merry, talking lightly and jestingly, as if the
sword was not over them ? Yet this is the case of those of you
who are unconverted and yet live lives of mirth. You have been
tried in the balance arid found wanting. You have been con-
demned by the righteous judge. Your sentence is past. You
are now in prison, neither can you break out of this prison ; the
sword is whetted and drawn over you. And oh ! is it not most
unreasonable to make mirth ? Is it not most unreasonable to
be happy and contented with yourself and merry with your friends ?
Is it not madness to sing the song of the drunkard ? " Eat, drink,
and be merry, for to-morrow we die."

2. Because God's instruments of destruction are all ready. —
Not only are Christless persons condemned already, but the instru-
ments of their destruction are prepared and quite ready. The
sword of vengeance is sharpened and also furbished. When
swords are kept in the armory, they are kept blunt, that the rust
may not hurt their edge; but when work is to be done, and they
are taken out for the slaughter, then they are furbished and sharp-
ened— made sharp and glittering. So it is with the sword of the
executioner ; when not in use, it is kept blunt ; but when work is
to be done, it is sharpened and made ready. It is sharpened and
furbished just before the blow is struck, that it may cut clean. So
is it with God's sword of vengeance. It is not sheathed and blunt,
it is sharpened and furbished, it is quite ready to do its work, it is
quite ready for a sore slaughter. The disease by which every
unconverted man is to die is quite ready, it is perhaps in his veins
at this very moment. The accident by which he is to drop into
eternity is quite ready, all the parts and means of it are arranged.
The arrow that is to strike him is on the string, perhaps it has left
the string, and is even now flying towards him.

The place in hell is quite ready for every unconverted soul.
When Judas died, the Scriptures say, " he went to his own
place." It was his own place before he went there, being quite
prepared and ready for him. As when a man retires at night to
his sleeping room, it is said he is gone to his own room, so a place
in hell is quite ready for every Christless person. It is his own
place. When the rich man died and was buried, he was imme-
diately in his own place. He found everything ready. He lifted
up his eyes in hell, being in torments. So hell is quite ready for
every Christless person. It was prepared, long ago. for the devil
and his angels. The fires are all quite ready, and fully lighted
and burning.

Ah ! should Christless souls then make mirth ? A malefactor

SERMON IV. 29

might, perhaps, say that he would be merry as long as the scaffold
was not erected on which he was to die. But if he were told that
the scaffold was quite ready, that the sword was sharpened, and
the executioner standing ready, oh ! would it not be madness to
make mirth ? Alas ! this is your madness, poor Christless soul.
You are not only condemned, but the sword is sharpened and
ready that is to smite your soul ; and yet you can be happy, and
dream away your days and nights in pleasures that perish in the
using. The disease is ready, the accident is ready, the arrow is
on the string, the gravels ready, yea, hell itself is ready, your own
place is made ready ; and yet you can make mirth ! You can
play games and enjoy company. How truly is your laughter like
the crackling of thorns under a pot : a flashy blaze, and then the
blackness of darkness for ever !

3. The sword may come down at any one moment. — Not only
are Christless persons condemned already, and not only is the
sword of vengeance quite ready, but the sword may come down
at any one moment. It is not so with malefactors ; their day is
fixed and told them, so that they can count their time. If they
have many days they make merry to-day at least, and begin to
be serious to-morrow. But not so Christless persons ; their day
is fixed, but it is not told them. It may be this very moment.
Ah ! should they then make mirth ?

Some malefactors have been found very stout-hearted to the
very last. Many have received their sentence quite unmoved,
and with a determined countenance. Some have even gone to
the scaffold quite unmoved ; some even with a light, careless
spirit. But when the head is laid down upon the block, when the
eyes are covered, and the neck laid bare — when the glittering
sword is lifted high in the air, and may come down any one
moment — that is a dreadful time of suspense. It would be very
horrible to see a man in a light, careless spirit, at that time. Oh !
it would be madness to be merry then ? Alas ! this is your mad-
ness, poor Christless soul. You are not only condemned, and not
only is the sword ready, but it may fall on you at any one
moment. Your head is, as it were, on the block. Your neck is
bared before God, and the whetted sword is held over you ; and
yet can you make mirth ? Can you take up your mind with
business and worldly things, and getting rich, building and plant-
ing, and this night your soul may be required of you? Can you
fill up your time with games and amusements, and foolish books
and entertaining companions ? Can you fill up your hours after
work with loose talk and wanton behavior, adding sin to sin,
treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath, when you knew not
what hour the wrath of God may come upon you to the utter-
most ? Can you go prayerless to your bed at night, your mind
filled with dark and horrid imaginations not fit to be named, and

30 SERMON IV.

yet you may be in hell before the morning ? A sword, a sword
it is furbished !

4. Because God has made no promise to Christless souls to stay
Ids hand one moment. — All the promises of God are yea and
amen ; that is, they are true. He always fulfils his promises.
But the same Scripture says they are " yea and amen in Christ
Jesus" All God's promises are made to Christ, and to sinners that
cleave to Christ. I believo that it is impossible, in the nature of
things, that God would make a promise to an unconverted man.
Accordingly, all God's promises are made to Christ, and to every
sinner that cleaves on to Christ. But unconverted persons are those
who have never come to Christ ; therefore, there are no promises
made to them. God nowhere promises to make them anxious.
He nowhere promises to bring them to Christ. He nowhere
promises to keep them one moment out of hell. " Should they
then make mirth ?"

Let me speak to Christless persons who are at ease. Many of
you hearing me know that you are in a Christless state ; and yet
you know that you are at ease and happy. Why is this ? It is
because you hope to be brought to Christ before you die. You
say, another day will do as well, and I will hear thee again of
this matter : and therefore you take your ease now. But this is
very unreasonable. It is not worthy of a rational being to act in
this way. God has nowhere promised to bring you to Christ
before you die. God has laid himself under no manner of obliga-
tion to you. He has nowhere promised tha) you shall see to-mor-
row, or that you shall hear another sermon. There is a day near
at hand when you shall not see a to-morrow. If this be not the
last, there is a sermon yet to be preached which will be the last
you will ever hear.

Let me speak to Christless persons who are anxious about their
souls. Some hearing me know that they are in a Christless con-
dition, and this made them anxious, and yet it is to be feared some
are losing that anxiety, and now going back to the mirth of
the world. Why is this ? This is most unreasonable. If you
are still out of Christ, however anxious you have been, remember
God has made no promises to save you. The sword is still over
you, furbished and sharpened. Ah ! do not then make mirth.
Strive to enter in at the strait gate. Take the kingdom of heaven
by violence. Press into it. Never rest till you are in the bonds
of the covenant. Then be as happy as the day is long.

5. It is a sore slaughter, " A sword ! a sword !"

1st, Sore, because it will be on all who are Christless. — The
dreadfulness of the slaughter in Jerusalem was that all were
slain, both old and young. The command which the prophet
heard was (ix., 5), "Go ye through the city and smite. Let not
your eye spare, neither have ye pity. Slay utterly old and young,
both maids and little children, and women ; but come not neat

SERMON IV. 31

any man upon whom is the mark." Such is the sere slaughtel
waiting on unconverted souls. All Christless persons will perish,
young and old. God will not spare, neither will his eye pity.
Think of this, old grey-headed persons, that have lived in sin, and
never come to Christ ; if you die thus, you will certainly perish in
the sore slaughter. Think of this, middle-aged persons, hard-
working merchants and laborers, who make money, but do not
sell all for the pearl of price. Think of this, ye Marthas, who
are careful and troubled about many things, but who forget the
one thing that is needful, you also will full in the sore slaughter.
Think of this, young persons, who live without prayer, yet in
mirth and jollity ; you that meet to jest and be happy on Sabbath
evenings, you that walk in the sight of your own eyes, you too
will full in that sore slaughter. Think of this, little children, you
that are the pride of your mother's heart, but who have gone
astray from ihe womb, speaking lies. Little children, who are
fond of your plays, but are not fond of coming to Jesus Christ,
who is the Saviour of little children, the sword will come on you
also. Oh ! it is a sore slaughter, that will not spare the young, nor
the lovely, nor the kind ; the gentle mother, and affectionate
child ; the widow and her only son. Should you then make
mirth ? Unconverted families, when you meet in the evening to
jest and sport with one another, ask this one question, should we
make mirth ? Is your mirth reasonable ? Is it worthy of rational
beings? Unconverted companions, who meet so often for mirth
and amusement, should you make mirth together when you are in
such a case ? Ah ! how dismal will the contrast be when God
says, *' Bind them in bundles to burn them !"

"2d. Sore slaughter, because the sword is the sword of God. — If
it were only the sword of man that is furbished and sharpened for
the slaughter, it would not be very terrible. But it is the sword
of Almighty God, and therefore it is very terrible. " Fear not them
that kill the body, but after that have no more that they can do ;
but I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear. Fear him who, after
he hath killed the body, is able to cast body and soul into hell.
Yea, I say unto you, fear him." If it were the sword of man, it
could reach only to the body ; but, ah ! it is the sword of God,
and the iron will enter into the soul. It is the same sword that
appeared in the garden of Eden. " A flaming sword, that turned
every way to keep the way of the tree of life." It is the same
sword which pierced the side of Jesus Christ in his agony.
" Awake, O sword ! against my shepherd, and against the man
that is my fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts. I will smite the shep-
herd, and the sheep shall be scattered.'' It is that sword of which
Christ speaks when he says, " It shall cut him asunder and ap-
point him his portion with hypocrites ; there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth."

Dear brethren, it is not a few flesh wounds that that sword

32 SERMON IT.

will make. It will cut asunder, it will be a death-blow ; eternal
death. It is a death which body and soul will be always dying,
yet never dead.

1 . Let me speak to the Old. — There may be some hearing me in
whom these three things meet, namely, that they are old, and
Christless, and full of mirth. Oh ! if there be such hearing me,
consider your ways — consider if your mirth be worthy of a ra-
tional being. I have shown you plainly out of the Scriptures
what your case is : (1.) That you are condemned already. (2.)
That God's sword is ready. (3.) That it may come down any
moment. (4.) That God has made you no promise to stay his
hand. And (5.) That it will be a sore slaughter. Consider, then,
if it be reasonable to believe a lie, to deceive your own soul, and
say, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. In the ordinary course
of things, you must soon go the way of all living — you must be
gathered to your fathers ; and then all that I have said will be
fulfilled. Should you then make mirth ? Are you tottering on
the brink of hell, and yet living prayerless and Christless, and play-
ing yourself with straws, telling over the oft-repeated tale of youth,
and laughing over the oft-repeated jest? Alas ! what a depth of
meaning was there in the word of feolomon ! " I said of laughter,
it is mad, and of mirth, what doth it ? Even in laughter the
heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness."

2. Let me speak to the Young. — There may be many hearing me
in whom these three things meet ; They are young in years, far
from Christ, and yet full of mirth. Now, my dear friends, I entreat
you consider whether your mirth is reasonable. The sword is
sharpened for a sore slaughter. Should you then make mirth ?

Obj. 1. Youth is the time for mirth. Ans. I know well youth
is the time for mirth. The young lamb is a happy creature as it
springs about on the green pasture. The young kid leaps from
rock to rock with liveliest glee. Tne young horse casts its heels
high in the air, full of life and p.f flvity. But then they have no
sin, and you have ; they have *,o hell, and you have. If you will
come to Jesus Christ now, a: d be freed from wrath, ah ! then you
will find that youth is the time for mirth ; youth is the time for
enjoying sweet peace in the bosom, and liveliest intercourse with
God, and brightest hopes of glory.

Obj. 2. You would have us be gloomy and sad. Ans. God
forbid. All that I maintain is, that until you are come to Christ,
your mirth is mad and unreasonable. If you will come to Christ,
then, be as happy as you will ; there are no bounds to your joy
there, for you will joy in God. And when you die, you will come
to fulness of joy in his presence, and pleasures at his right hand
for evermore.

Obj. 3. If I be Christless, it will not bring me into Christ to be
i*ad, and, therefore, I may as well be merry. Ans. True, to be
sad will not bring you into Christ ; and yet, if you were really

SERMON V. 33

awakened to cry to God, peradventure, ne would hear your cry.
If you were striving to enter in, you might find entrance. If you
were pressing into the kingdom, you might take it by violence.
Seek meekness, seek righteousness. It may be ye shall be hid in
the day of the Lord's anger. If you stay where you are, you are
sure to be lost. If you live on in carnal security, in mirth and
jollity, while you are out of Christ, you are sure to perish.

" Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer
thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine
heart and in the sight of thine eyes ; but know thou that for all
these things God will bring thee into judgment."

Dundee, 1837

SERMON V.

•• Unto you, 0 men, I call , and my voice is to the sons of man." — PHOV viii., 4

1. These are the words of wisdom; and wisdom in the book of
Proverbs is no other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
This is evident from chap, i., 23, where he says, •' Behold, I will
pour out my spirit unto you ;" but it is Christ alone who has the
gift of the Holy Spirit. And again, from viii., 22, where he says,
" The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way ;" and verse
30, " Then I was by him as one brought up with him ; and I was
daily h:s delight, rejoicing always before him." These words are
true of none but of Jesus Christ, the Word that was with God,
and was God, by whom all things were made.

2. The places he goes to with the invitation. — 1. He goes to the
country . He climbs every eminence, and cries there ; then he
descends to the highway where many roads meet. 2. He goes
to the city. He begins at the gates where the people are assem-
bled to make bargains and hear causes ; then he proceeds along
the principal avenue into the city, and cries in at every door as he
passes. He first goes out into the highways and hedges, then
goes into the streets and lanes of the city, carrying the blessed
message.

3. Observe the manner in which he invites. — He cries aloud ,
he puts forth the voice ; he stands and cries ; he calls and lifts up
his voice ; he seems like some merchant offering his wares, first
in the market and then from door to door. Never did busy crier
offer to sell his goods with such anxiety as Jesus offers his salva-
tion: verse 10, "Receive my instruction, and not silver; and
knowiedge rather than choice gold."

4. Observe to whom the invitation is addressed. — Verse 4. " Un-
to you, O men, I call ; and my voice is to the sons of man." Mer-

34 SERMON V.

chants only offer their goods to certain classes of the people tha
will buy ; 'but Jesus offers his to all men. Wherever there is a
son of Adam, wherever there is one born of woman, the word is
addressed to him ; he that hath ears to hear let him hear.

Doctrine. — Christ offers himself as a Saviour to all of the
human race.

I. The most awakening truth in all the Bible. — It is commonly
thought that preaching the holy law is the most awakening -truth
in the Bible; that by it the mouth is stopped, and all the world
becomes guilty before God ; and, indeed, I believe this is the mcst
ordinary mean which God makes use of. And yet to me there is
something far more awakening in the sight of a Divine Saviour
freely offering himself to every one of the human race. There is
something that might pierce the heart that is like a stone in that
cry, " Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man."

1. Had you lived in the days when Noah built the Ark, had
you seen that mighty vessel standing open and ready, inviting all
the world to come into its roomy cavities, would it not have been
the most awakening of all sights ? Could you have looked upon
it without thinking of the coming flood, that was to sweep the
ungodly world away ?

2. Had you lived in the times when Jesus was on the earth,
had you seen him riding down the Mount Olivet, and stopping
when he came in sight of Jerusalem, lying peaceful and slumber-
ing at his feet, had you seen the son of God weep over the city,
and say, " If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day,
the things which belong to thy peace ! but now they are hid from
thine eyes," would you not have felt that some awful destruction
was awaiting the slumbering city ? Would he shed these tears
for nothing? Surely he sees some day of woe coming which
none knows but himself.

3. Just so, dear friends, when you see Jesus here running from
place to place ; from the high places to the highways, from the
highways to the city gates, from the gates to the doors ; when
you hear his anxious cry, " Unto you, O men, I call," does it not
show that all men are lost, that a dreadful hell is before them ?
Would the Saviour call so loud and so long if there was no hell ?

Apply this to slumbering souls.

1st, Mark who it is that calls you ; it is Wisdom ! Jesus Christ,
in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
" Unto you, O men, I call." Often, when ministers prick youi
hearts in their sermons, you go home and say, " Oh ! it was only
the word of a minister; shall I tremble at the words of a man?"
But here is the word of no minister, but of Christ. Here is the
word of one who knows your true condition, who knows your
heart and your history ; who knows your sins done in the light,
and done in the dark, and done in the recesses of your heart ;

SERMON V. 35

who knows the wrath that is over you, and the hell that is before
yon. " Unto you, O men, I call."

2rf, Mark in how many places he calls you. — In the high places
and the highways, in the gates, in the entries, at the coming in of
the doors. Has it not been so with you ? Have you not been
called in the Bible, in the family, in the house of prayer ? You
have gone from place to place, but the Saviour has gone after you.
You have gone to places of diversion, you have gone to places of
sin, but Christ has followed you. You have lain down on a bed
of sickness, and Christ has followed you. Must not the sheep be
in great danger, when the shepherd follows so far in search of it?

3d, How loud he cries. — He calls and lifts up the voice. Has
it not been so with you ? Has he not knocked loudly at your
door, in warnings, in providences, in deaths ? Has he not cried
loudly in the preached word ? Sometimes when reading the Bible
alone, has not the voice of Christ been louder than thunder?

4th, He cries to all. — Had he cried to the old, then the young
would have said, " We are safe ; we do not need a Saviour."
Had he cried to the young, the old men among you would have
said, " He is not for us." Had he called to the good or to the bad,
still some would have felt themselves excused. But he cries to
you all. There is not one person hearing but Jesus cries to you.
Then all are lost— old and young, rich and poor. Whatever you
think of yourselves, Jesus knows you to be in a lost condition ;
therefore this piercing cry, " Unto you, O men, I call."

II The most comforting truth in the Bible. — When awakened
persons are first told of Jesus Christ, it generally adds to their
grief. They see plainly that he is a very great and glorious Sa-
viour; but then they feel that they have rejected him, and they
fear that he never can become their Saviour. Very often awak-
ened persons sit and listen to a lively description of Christ, of
his work of substitution in the stead of sinners ; but their ques-
tion still is, " Is Christ a Saviour to me ?'' Now, to this question
I answer, Christ is freely offered to all the human race. " Unto
you, O men, I call." If there were no other text in the whole
Bible to encourage sinners to come freely to Christ, this one alone
might persuade them. There is no subject more misunderstood
by unconverted souls than the unconditional freeness of Christ.
So little idea have we naturally of free grace, that we cannot be-
lieve tha* God can offer a Saviour to us, while we are in a wicked
hell-deserving condition. O it is sad to think how men argue against
their own happiness, and will not believe the very Word of God !

All the types showed the Saviour to be free to all.

(1.) The brazen serpent was lifted up in sight of all Israel, that
any one might look and be healed ; and Christ himself explains
this. " So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever be-
lieveth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

36 SERMON V.

(2.) The Refuge City set on a hill, with its gates open night
and day, showed this. Whosoever will m.'iy flee for refuge to the
hope set before us.

(3.) The angels over Bethlehem repeated the same thing ? " Be-
hold I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people." And the last invitation of the Bible is the freest of all :
"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Mark,
also, in the text before us, " Unto you, O men, I call." This shows
that he is not free to devils ; but to all men, to every one that has
human form and human name, the Saviour is now free. It is not
for any goodness in men, not for any change in them that Christ
offers himself; but just in their lost condition as men. He freely
puts himself within their reach. There are many stratagems by
which the devil contrives to keep men away from Christ.

1. Some say there is no hope for me. "There is no hope,
no ; for I have loved strangers, and after them I will go. I have
committed such great sins, I have sunk so deep in the mire of sin,
I have served my lusts so long, that there is no use of me thinking
of turning. There is no hope, no." To you I answer, there is
hope ; your sins may be forgiven for Christ's sake ; there is for-
giveness with God. Ah! why should Satan so beguile you?
True, you have waded deep into the mire of sin ; you have destroyed
yourself, and yet in Christ there is help. He came for such as you.
Christ speaks in these words to you — you are of the human race,
and Christ speaks to all of the human race — " Unto you, O men,
I call."

2. " I have not the least care about my soul. Up to this mo-
ment I never listened to a sermon, nor attended to a word in the
Bible. I have no wish to hear of Christ, or God, or eternal things."
To you I answer: Still Christ is quite free to you. Though you
have no care for your soul, yet Christ has, and wishes to save it.
Though you do not care for Christ, yet he cares for you, and
stretches out his hands to you. Christ did not come to the earth
because people were caring about their souls, but because we
were lost. You are only the more lost. Christ is all the more
seeking you. This day you may find a Saviour. " Unto you, O
Men, I call."

3. " If I knew I were one of the elect I would come, but I fear
I am not," To you I answer : Nobody ever came to L irist be-
cause they knew themselves to be of the elect. It is quite true
that God has of his mere good pleasure elected some to everlast-
ing Lfe, but they never knew it till they came to Christ. Christ
nowhere invites the elect to come to him. The question for you
is not, Am I one of the elect ? but, Am I of the human race ?

4. Some of you may be saying, " If I could see my name in the
Bible then I would believe that Christ wants me to be saved
When Christ called Zaccheus, he said, ' Zaccheus, come down.'
He called him by ijame, and he came down immediately. Now

SEIIMON V. 37

if Christ would call me by name, I would run to him immedi-
ately." Now, to you I say, Christ does call you by your name,
for he says, " To you, O men, I call." Suppose that Christ had
written down the names of all the men and women in the world,
your name would have been there. Now, instead of writing
down every name, he puts them all together in one word, which
includes every man, and woman, and child — " Unto you, O men, I
call ; and my words are to the sons of man /" So your name is
in the Bible. " Go and preach the Gospel to every creature."

4. " If I could repent and believe, then Christ would be free to
me, but I cannot repent and believe." To you I say, are you
not a man before you repent and believe ? then Christ is offered
to you before you repent. And, believer, Christ is not offered to
you because you repent, but because you are a vile, lost sinner.
" Unto you, O men, I call."

6. " I fear the market is over. Had I come in the morning of
life, I believe Christ was offered me then — in youth, at my first
sacrament ; but now, I fear, the market-day is done." Are you
not still a man, one of the human race ? True, you have refused
the Saviour for years, yet still he offers himself to you. It was
not for any goodness that he offered himself to you at first, but
because you were vile and lost. You are vile and lost yet, so he
offers himself to you still. " Unto you. O men, I call."

I would here then take occasion to make offer of Christ with
all his benefits to every soul in this assembly. To every man,
and woman, and child, I do now, in the name of my Master, make
fuL, free offer of a crucified Saviour to be your surety and right-
eousness, your refuge and strength. I would let down the Gospel
cord so low, that sinners, who are low of stature like Zaccheus,
may lay hold of it. Oh ! is there none will lay hold on Christ, the
only Saviour ?

III. The most condemning truth in the Bibit

If Christ be freely offered to all men, then it is plain that all
who live and die without accepting Christ shall meet with the
doom of those who refuse the Son of God. " He that sinneth
against me wrongeth his own soul ; all they that hate me love
death." Ah ! it is a sad thing that the very truth, which is life to
every believing soul, is death to all others. " This is the con-
demnation." We are a sweet savor of Christ unto God. When
the ignorant heathens stand at the bar of God — Hindoos, and
Africans, and Chinese — who have never had the offer of Christ
made to them, they will not be condemned as those will that have
lived and died unsaved under a preached Gospel. Tyre and
Sidon will not meet the same doom as Chorazin and Bethsaida,
%nd unbelieving Capernaum.

Oh ! brethren, you are without excuse in the sight of G«<« tf
you go home unsaved this day. The Gospel cord has beep '*•»

38 SERMON VI.

down as low as to every one of you this day. If you go away
without laying hold, your condemnation will be heavier at the last
day. If Christ had not come to you, you had not had sin, but
now you have no cloak for your sin.

Obj. But my heart is so hard that I cannot believe, my heart is
so set upon worldly things that I cannot turn to Christ. I was
born this way. Ans. This does but aggravate your guilt. It is
true you were born thus, and that your heart is like the nether
millstone. But that is the very reason God will most justly con-
demn you ; because from your infancy you have been hard-
hearted and unbelieving. If a thief, when tried before the judge
on earth, were to plead guilty, but to say that he had always been
a thief, that even in infancy his heart loved stealing, would not
this just aggravate his guilt, that he was by habit and repute a
thief? So you.

O brethren, if you could die and say that Christ had never been
offered to you, you would have an easier hell than you are like to
have. You must go away either rejoicing in or rejecting Christ
this day ; either won, or more lost than ever. There is not one of
you but will yet feel the guilt of this Sabbath-day. This sermon
will meet you yet. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh,
" How shall we escape if we neglect so gieat salvation ?"

St. Peter's, 1838

SERMON VI.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the
Word of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness,
and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was mani-
fested unto us) ; that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that
ye also may have fellowship with us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father,
and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you that your
joy may be full."— 1 John i., 1-4.

I. The subject of John's preaching.

It was Jesus Christ, and him crucified. " That which we have
seen and heard, declare we unto you." This was the preaching
of John the Baptist — " Behold the Lamb of God, which takcth
away the sins of the world." He pointed to Jesus. This was the
preaching of Philip. Acts viii., 5, " Philip went down to Samaria,
and preached Christ unto them." And when he came to the
Ethiopian Eunuch, " he preached unto him Jesus." This was the
preaching of Paul. " I determined to know nothing among you,
but Jesus Christ and him crucified." This was the beginning, and
middie, and end of the preaching of Paul. This was the preach-
ing of John. To declare all that he had seen with his eyes, heard

SERMON VI.

39

with his ears, handled with his hands, of Immanuel ; this was th*
object of his life, this was the Alpha and Omega of his preaching.
He knew that Jesus was like the alabaster box, full of spikenard,
very costly ; and his whole labor was to break the box, and pour
forth the good ointment before the eyes of fainting sinners, that
they might be attracted by the sweet savor. He knew that
Jesus was a bundle of myrrh, and his whole life was spent in
opening it out to sinners, that they might be overcome by the re-
freshing odors. He carried about the savor of Christ with him
wherever he went. He knew that Jesus was the Balm of Gilead,
and his labor was to open out this bruised balm before the eyes of
sick souls, that they might be healed.

1. His Eternity. — " That which was from the beginning."
John had often heard Jesus speak of his eternity. " In the be-
ginning was the Word." " Before Abraham was I am." He
remembered how Jesus said in prayer in the garden, " Glorify me
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."
" Thou lovedst me before the ibundation of the world." John
thus knew that he was the Eternal One — that he was before all
visible things, for he made them all. By him God made the world.
Even at the time John was leaning on his bosom, he felt that it
was the bosom of the Uncreated One. John always declared
this ; he loved to make him known. O beloved, if you have come
to lean on the bosom of Jesus, you have conae to the Uncreated
One — the Eternal One.

2. Was with the Father. — John knew, from Pro>v. viii., 30, that
Jesus had been with the Father — " Then I was by him, a»one
brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always
before him." He had heard Jesus tell many of the secrets of his
Father's bosom, from which he knew that he had been with the
Father. " All things that I have heard of my Father, I have
made known unto you." He had heard Jesus plainly say, " I came
forth from the Father, and am come into the world." " A.gain I
leave the world and go to the Father." John felt even when Jesus
was washing his feet that this was the man that was God's fellow.
Even when he saw Jesus on the Cross, with his pale lips and
bleeding hands and feet, like a tortured worm, and " no man,"
he knew that this was the man that was God's fellow. He lived
to declare this. Do you thus look to Jesus ? Have you beheld
the glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth ? O tempest-tossed soul, this is he that comes to save thee.

3. Eternal Life. — John knew that Jesus was the author of aW
natural life ; that not a man breathes, no beast of the forest roars,
no bird stoops on the wing, but they all receive the stream ol life
from the hand of Immanuel. He had seen Jesus raise the Ruler's
daughter from the dead, and call Lazarus from the tomb. He
knew that Jesus was the author of all life in the soul. He hau
heard Jesus say — " As the father raiaeth up the deao\ and qillckeD

40 SERMON VI.

etli whom he will, even so the Son quickeneth whom he wi.l.''
" My sheep know my voice, and I give unto them eternal life."
He had heard him say, " I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Above all, he had felt in his own soul that Christ was the Eterna!
Life. In that morning, when he sat with his father, Zebedee, in
the boat, mending their nets, Jesus said, " Follow me !" and the
life entered into his soul, and he found it a never failing spring of
life. Christ was his life ; therefore did he make him known as
the eternal life. Even when he saw him give up the ghost, when
he saw his pale, lifeless body, the stiff hands and feet, the glazed
eye, the body cold as the rocky tomb where they laid him, still
he felt that this was the Eternal Life. O beloved, do you believe
that he is the life of the world ? Some of you feel your souls to
be dead, lifeless in prayer, lifeless in praise. Oh ! look on him
whom John declares to you. All is death without him. Bring
your dead soul into union with him, and he will give you eternal
life.

4. Manifested. — O beloved, if Jesus had not been manifested,
you had never been saved. It would have been quite righteous
in God to have kept his Son in his own bosom — to have kept that
jewel in his own place upon the throne of heaven. God would
have been the same lovely God ; but we would have lain down
in burning hell. If that Eternal Life which was with the Father
— if he had remained in his glory as the living one — then you
and I would have borne our own curse. But he was manifested
— " God was manifest in the flesh — justified in the spirit — seen
of angels — believed on in the world — received up into glory."
J-^hn saw him — he saw his lovely countenance — he beheld his
giory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of
grace and truth. He saw that better Sun veiled with flesh that
could not keep the beams of his Godhead from shining through.
He saw him on the Mount, when his face shone like the sun. He
saw in the Garden, where he lay upon the ground. He saw him
on the Cross, when he hung between earth and heaven. He
looked upon him — many a time he looked up on his heavenly coun-
tenance— his eye met his eye. He heard him — heard the voice
that said, " Let there be light !" He heard the voice like the sound
of many waters. He heard all his gracious words — his words
concerning God and the way of peace. He heard him say to a
sinner, " Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee." He
handled him — he put his hands in his hands, his arms around his
arms, and his head upon his b6som. Perhaps he handled his body
when it was taken from the cross — touched the cold clay of
Immanuel. O beloved, it is a manifested Christ we declare unto
you. It is not the Son in the bosom of the Father — that would
never have saved you. It is Jesus manifested in flesh. The Son
of God living and dying as man instead of sinners ; him we
declare unto you.

SERMON VI. 4t

Learn the true way of coming to peace. — It is by looking to a
manifested Jesus. Some of you think you will come to peace by
looking in to your own heart. Your eye is riveted there. You
watch every change there. If you could only see the glimpse of
light there, O what joy it would give you ! If you could only see
a melting of your stony heart — if you could only see your heart
turning to God — if you could only see a glimpse of the image of
Jesus in your heart — you would be at peace ; but you cannot —
all is dark within. O dear souls, it is not there you will find
peace. You must avert the eye from your bosom altogether.
You must look to a declared Christ. Spread out the record of
God concerning his Son. The Gospels are the narrative of the
heart of Jesus, of the work of Jesus, of the grace of Jesus.
Spread them out before the eye of your mind, till they fill your
eye. Cry for the Spirit to breathe over the page — to make a
manifested Christ stand out plainly before you ; and the moment
that you are willing to believe all that is there spoken concerning
Jesus, that moment you will wipe away your tears, and ch;mge
your sighs for a new song of praise.

II. The object John had in view by preaching Christ.

1. That ye may have fellowship with us. — To have fellowship
with another is to have things in common with him. Thus in
Acts iv., 32, the first Christians were " of one heart and of one
soul ; neither said any that aught of the things which he possessed
was his own, but they had all things in common."" They had al
their goods in common, they shared what they had with one ano
ther. This is what John desired in spiritual things, that we
should share with him in his spiritual things, share and share alike

1st, Forgiveness. — Some people think it impossible to have the
same forgiveness that the Apostles had — that it would be verj
bold to think of tasting the same. But is it not far boldei
to say that John is a liar, and that the Holy Spirit is a liar \
for he here says plainly, that all his preaching, and all his
desire was, that you should have fellowship with him. Yes,
sinner, forgiveness is as open to you as it was to John. Tht-
blood that washed him is ready to wash you as white as snow.
John had the same need of Christ that the vilest of you have
Only look to a declared Itnmanuel ; clear your eye from unbelief
and look at a freely revealed Jesus, ;md you will find the samf-
forgiveness is as free to you as t was to John.

2d, The same love of Jesus. — John was the disciple whom Jesun
loved. Just as Daniel was th" prophet whom he greatly loved —
" a man, greatly beloved." So John was the disciple whom Jesua
loved. At the last supper which Jesus had in this world, John
leaned upon his bosom. He had the nearest place to the heart of
Christ of any in all the world. Perhaps you think it is impossible
vou can ever come to that. Some of you are trembling afar off|

42 SERMON VI.

but you, too, if you will only look where John points you, if you
will only believe the full record of God about Jesus, will share the
love of Jesus with John, you will be one of his peculiarly beloved
ones. Those that believe most, must get love, they come near-
est to Jesus, they do, as it were, lay their heads on his breast ;
arid no doubt you will one day really share that bosom with John.
If you believe little, you will keep far off from Jesus.

3d, The same fatherly dealings as John. — John experienced
many wonderful dealings of God. He experienced many of the
primings of the Father. He was a fruitful branch, and the Father
pruned him that he might bring forth more fruit. When he was
very old, he was banished to Patmos, an island in the ^Egean Sea,
and, it is supposed, made a slave in the mines there. He was a
companion in tribulation ; but he had many sweet shinings of the
Father's love to his soul. He had sweet revelations of Christ in
the time of his affliction ; and he was joyfully delivered out of all
his troubles. He experienced peculiarly the fatherly dealings of
God. And so may you do, believer. Look where John looked,
believe as John believed, and, like him, you will find that you have
a father in heaven, who will care for you, who will correct you
in measure, who will stay his rough wind in the day of his east
wind, who will preserve you unto his heavenly kingdom.

2. Fellowship with the Father. — O beloved, this is so wonderful,
that I could not have believed it, if I had not seen it. Shall a hell-
deserving worm come to share with the holy God ? O the depth
and the length of the love of God, it passeth knowledge !

1st, In his holiness. — A natural man has not a spark of God's
holiness in him. There is a kind of goodness about you.
You may be kind, pleasant, agreeable, good-natured, amiable
people, there may be a kind of integrity about you, so that you
are above stealing or lying ; but as long as you are in a natural
state, there is not a grain of God's holiness in you. You have
not a grain of that absolute hatred against all sin which God has ;
you have none of that flaming love for what is lovely, pure,
holy, which dwells in the heart of God. But the moment you
believe on a manifested Christ, that moment you receive the
Spirit, the same spirit which dwells in the infinite bosom of the
Father d welleth in you, so you become partakers of God's holiness,
you become partakers of the Divine nature. You will not be as holy
as God ; but the same stream which flows through the heart of
God will be given you. Ah ! does not your heart break to be
holier ! Look then to Jesus, and abide in him, and you will share
the same spirit with God himself.

2d, In his joy. — No joy is like the Divine joy. It is infinite,
/ull, eternal, pure, unmingled joy. It is light, without any cloud
to darken it ; it is calm, without any breath to ruffle it. Clouds
and darkness are round about him, storms and fire go before him
but within, all is peace ineffable, unchangeable. Believers in some

SERMON VI. 43

measure share in this joy. We might mention some of the elements
of God's joy. First, All things happen according to the good plea
sure of his will. He has fore-ordained whatsoever comes to pass
Nothing comes unprepared upon God. Many things are hateful in
his sight, yet, looking on the whole, he can delight in all. If you have
come to Christ, you will have some drops of his joy. You can
look upon all events with a calm, holy joy, knowing that your
Father's will and purposes alone shall stand. Second, The Con-
version of Souls. There is joy in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner repenting, more than over ninety-nine who
need no repentance. 1 have no doubt that this is one of the great
elements of his joy, seeing souls brought into his favor. God loves
to save ; he delighteth in mercy ; he delights when he can be a
just God and a Saviour. If you are come to Christ, you will have
the same joy.

3. Fellowship with the Son.

1st. We share with . the Son in his justification. — Once Jesus
was unjustified, once there were sins laid to his charge, the sins of
many. It was this that occasioned his agony in the garden, on
the cross. His only comfort was, " He is near that justifieth me."
He knew the time would be short. But now the wrath of God
has all fallen upon him. The thunder-clouds of God's anger have
spent all their lightnings on his head. The vials of God's wrath
have poured out their last drops upon him. He is now justified
from all the sins that were la'i upon him. He has lei* them with
the grave-clothes. His fellow-men and devils laid all sins to his
charge ; he was silent. Do you believe this record concerning
the Son ? Do you cleave to Jesus as yours ? Then you have
fellowship with hirr in his justification. You are as much justified
as Christ is. There is as little guilt lying upon you as there is
upon Christ. The vials of wrath have not another drop for Christ,
nor another drop for you. You are justified from all things.

2d, His a \:-;tion. — When Jesus went up to heaven, he said,
" I ;^o to my Father." When he entered heaven, the word of
God was, " Thou art my Son : sit thou on my right hand until I
make thine enemies thy footstool." Oh ! it was a blessed ex-
change, when he left the frowns and curses of this world for the
embrace of iiis Father's arms, when he left the thorny crown for
a crown of orlory, when he came from under the wrath of God
in:<> the fatherly love of God. Such is your change — you that
believe in Jesus. You have fellowship with the Son — you share
in his adoption. He says, •' I ascend to my Father and your
Father." God is as much your Father as he is Christ's Father —
yr>ur God as Christ's God. O what a change ! lor an heir of hell
to become an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ, to inherit
God, to have a son's interest in God ! Eternity alone wi'l teach
you what is in that word, " heir of God."

4. Joy full. — Other joys r.re n Jt filling. C/eature joys oJ. fill

44 SERMON VII.

a small part of the soul. Money, houses, lands, music, entertain-
ments, friends — these are not filling joys; they are just drops of
joys. But Christ revealed makes the cup run over. " Thou
anointest my head with oil : my cup runneth over. Believing in
a manifested Christ, fills the heart full of joy. " In thy presence
is fullness of joy." Christ brings the soul into God's presence.
One smile of God fills the heart more than ten thousand smiles of
the world.

You that have nothing but creature joy, hunting after butterflies,
feeding upon carrion : why do you spend money for that which
is not bread ? You that are afflicted, tempest-tossed, and not
comforted, look to a manifested Jesus. According to your faith,
so be it unto you. Believe none, and you will have no joy. Be-
lieve little, and you will have little joy. Believe much, and you
will have much joy. Believe all, and you will have all joy, and
your joy will be full. It will be like a bowl lipping over — good
measure, pressed down, and running over. Amen.

St.. Peter's, 1839.

SERMON VII.

'• A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse ; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed."
—Song iv., 12.

Doctrine. — The Believer is Christ's Garden.

I. The name here given to Believers. " My sicttr, my spouse,'
or rather, " my sister spouse." There are many sweet names
from the lips of Christ addressed to believers : " O thou fairest
among women," i., 8 ; " My love," ii., 2 ; " My love, my fair
one," ii., 10 ; " O my dove," ii., 14 ; " My sister, my 1. ve, my dove,
my undefiled," v., 2 ; " O prince's daughter," vii., 1. But here is
one more tender than all, " My sister, my spouse" iv., 9 ; and
again, verse 10 ; and here, verse 12. To be spoken well of by
the world, is little to be desired ; but to hear Christ speak such
words to us, is enough to fill our hearts with heavenly joy. The
meaning you will see by what Paul says, 1 Cor. ix., 5, '• Have we
not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles ?"
He means power to marry one who is like-minded, a sister in the
Lord, one who will be both a wife and a sister in Christ Jesus :
a wife by covenant, a sister by being born of the same Father in
heaven. So Christ here says of believers, *' My sister, my spouse ;"
that they are not only united to him by choice and covenant, but
are like-minded also.

.. These two things are inseparable. — Some would like to be tke

SERMON VII. 45

spouse of the Saviour, without being the sister. Some would like
to be saved by Christ, but not to be made like Christ. When
Christ chooses a sinner, and sets his love on the soul, and when
he woos the soul and draws it into covenant with himself, it is
only that he may make the soul a sister ; that he may impart his
features, his same heart, his all to the soul. Now many rest in
the mere forgiveness of sins. Many have felt Christ wooing their
soul, and offering himself freely to them, and they have accepted
him. They have consented to the match. Sinful and worthless,
and hell-deserving, they find that Christ desires it — that he will
not be dishonored by it — that he will find glory in it ; and their
heart is filled with joy in being taken into covenant with so glo-
rious a bridegroom. But why has he done it ? To make you
partaker of his holiness, to change your nature, to make you
sister to himself, of his own mind and spirit. He has sprinkled
you with clean water, only that he may give you a new heart
also. He brings you to himself and gives you rest, only that he
may make you learn of him, his meekness and lowliness in heart.

1. Inseparable. — You cannot be the spouse of Christ without
becoming sister also. Christ offers to be the bridegroom of sin-
covered souls. He came from heaven for this : took flesh and blood
for this. He tries to woo sinners, standing and stretching out his
hands. He tells them of all his power, and glory, and riches, and
that all shall be theirs. He is a blood-sprinkled bridegroom ; but
that is his chief loveliness. The soul believes his word, melts
under his love, consents to be his. " My beloved is mine, and I
am his." Then he washes the soul in his own blood, clothes it in
his own righteousness, takes it in with him to the presence of his
Father. From that day the soul begins to reflect his image.
Christ begins to live in the soul. The same heart, the same spirit,
are in both. The soul becomes sister as well as spouse ; Christ's
not only by choice and covenant, but by likeness also. Some of
you Christ has chosen : you have become his justified ones. Do
you rest there ? No : remember you must be made like him —
reflect his image : you cannot separate the two.

2. The order of the two. — You must be first the spouse before
you can be the sister of Christ ; his by covenant before his by like-
ness. Some think to be like Christ first, that they will copy his
features till they recommend themselves to Christ. No : this will
not do. He chooses only those that have no comeliness, polluted
in their own blood, that he may have the honor of washing them.
" When thou wast in thy blood ;" Ezek. xvi., 6. Are there any
trying to recommend themselves to Christ by their change of life ?
O how little you know him ! He comes to seek those who are
black in themselves. Are there some of you poor, defiled, un-
clean? You are just the soul Christ woos. Proud, scornful?
Christ woos you. He offers you his all, and then he will change
you.

46 SERMON VII

III. To what Christ compares Believers : " A garden enclosed*
— The gardens in the East are always enclosed: sometimes by a
fence of reeds, such are the gardens of cucumbers in the wilder-
ness ; sometimes by a stone wall, as the garden of Gethsemane ;
sometimes by a hedge of prickly pear. But what is still more
interesting is, they are often enclosed out of a wilderness. All
around is often barren sand ; and this one enclosed spot is like the
garden of the Lord. Such is the believer.

1. Enclosed by election. — In the eye of God, the world was one
great wilderness, all barren, all dead, all fruitless. No part was
fit to bear anything but briers. It was nigh unto cursing. One
part was no better than another in his sight. The hearts of men
were all hard as a rock, dry and barren as the sand. Out of the
mere good pleasure of his will, he marked out a garden of delights
where he might show his power and grace, that it might be to his
praise. Some of you know your election of God by the fruit 01
it, by your faith, love, and holiness, Be humbled by the thought
that it was solely because he chose you. Why me, Lord ?
why me ?

2. Enclosed by the Spirit's work. — Election is the planning, ol
the garden. The Spirit's work is the carrying it into effect.
Isaian v., 2, " He fenced it/' When the Spirit begins his work, it
is separating work. When a man is convinced of sin, he is no
more one with the careless, godless world. He avoids his com-
panions, goes alone. When a soul comes to Christ, it is still more
separated. It then comes into a new world. He is no more under
the curse, no more under wrath. He is in the smile and favor of
God. Like Gideon's fleece, he now receives the dew when all
around is dry.

3. Enclosed by the arms of God. — God is a wall of fire. Angels
are around the soul. Elisha's hill was full of horses of fire. God is
i ound about the soul, as the mountains stand round about Jerusalem.
The soul is hid in the secret of God's presence. No robber can
ever come over the fence. " A vineyard of red wine, I the Lord
do keep it ; I will water it every moment ; lest any hurt it, I will
keep it night and day." (Isaiah xxvii., 2, 3). This is sung over
thee.

IV. Well-watered garden. — Watered in three ways. 1. By a
hidden well. It is the custom in the East to roll a stone over the
mouth of a well, to preserve the water from sand. 2. By a foun-
tain of living water, a well always bubbling up. 3. By streams
from Lebanon.

1. " A spring shut up. — This describes the Spirit in the heart,
in his most secret manner of working. In some gardens there is
only this secret well. A stone is over the mouth. If you wish to
water the garden, you must roll away the stone, and let down the
bucket. Such is the life of God in many souls. Some of you

SERMON VII. 47

feel that there s a stone over the mouth of the well in you. Your
own reeky heart is the stone. Stir up the gift of God which is in
thee.

2. A well of living water. — This is the same as John iv. — a well
that is ever full and running over. Grace new every moment ;
fresh upspringings from God. — Thus only will you advance.

3. Streams from Lebanon. — These are very plentiful. On af
sides they fall in pleasant cascades, in the bottom unite into broad,
full streams, and on their way water the richest gardens. The
garden of Ibrahim Pacha, near Acre, is watered with streams
from Lebanon. So believers are sometimes favored with
streams from the Lebanon that is above. We receive out of
Christ's fulness ; drink of the wine of his pleasures. O for more
of these streams of Lebanon ! Even in the dry season they are
full. The hotter the summer, the streams from Lebanon become
the fuller ; because the heat only melts the mountain snows.

V. The Fruit. — The very use of a garden is to bear fruit and
flowers. For this purpose it is enclosed, hedged, planted, water-
ed. If it bear no fruit nor flowers, all the labor is lost labor.
The ground is nigh to cursing. So is it with the Christian.
Three remarkable things are here.

1. No weeds are mentioned. — Pleasant fruit-trees, and all the
chief spices ; but no weeds. Had it been a man that was describ-
ing his garden, he would have begun with the weeds ; the unbe-
lief, corruption, evil tempers, &c. Not so Christ. He covers all
the sins. The weeds are lost sight of. He sees no perversity.
As in John xvii , " They have kept thy word ; they are not of the
world." As in Rev. ii., 2, " I know thy works."

2. Fruits. — The pomegranate, the very best ; all pleasant fruits.
And all his own. " From me is thy fruit found ;" " His pleasant
fruits ;" verse 16. The graces that Christ puts into the heart and
brings out of the life are the very best, the richest, most pleasant,
most excellent that a creature can produce. Love to Christ, love
to the brethren, love to the Sabbath, forgiveness of enemies, all
the best fruits that can grow in the human heart. Unreasonable
world ! to condemn true conversion, when it produces the very
fruits of paradise, acceptable to God, if not to you. Should not
this make you stand and consider?

3. Spices. — These spices do not naturally grow in gardens.
Even in the East, there never was such a display as this. So the
fragrant graces of the Spirit are not natural to the heart. They
are brought from a far country. They must be carefully watch-
ed. They need the stream, and the gentle zephyr. Oh ! I fear
most of you should hang your heads when Christ begins to speak
of fragrant spices in your heart. Where are they ? Are there
not talkative, forward Christians? Are there not self-seeking,
praise-seeking, man-pleasing Christians? Are there not proud-

48 SERMON VIil-

praying Christians ? Are there not ill-tempered Christians ? Are
there not rash, inconsiderate ones ? Are there not idle, lazy, bad-
working Christians ? Lord, where are the spices ? Verily, Christ
is a bundle of myrrh. O to be like him ! O that every flower
and fruit would grow ! They must come from above. Man
there are of whom one is forced to say, " Well, they may be Chric
tians ; but I would not like to be next them in heaven !" Cry fo.
the wind ; " Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south ; blo7
upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out."

SERMON VIIL*

" (Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her beloved ?)
I raised thee up under the apple-tree ; there thy mother brought thee forth ;
There she brought thee forth that bare thee. Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm ; for love is strong as death ; jealousy is cruel as the
grave ; the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would
give'all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned."
SONG viii., 5, 6, 7.

WE are introduced to the great Redeemer and a believing soul,
and are made to hear their converse.

I. The posture of the Church.

1. From the Wilderness. — To a child of God this world is a
wilderness. First, Because everything is fading here. Here is
nothing abiding ; money takes wings and flees away ; friends die.
All are like grass, and if some are more beautiful, or more engag-
ing than others, still they are only like the flower of the grass : a
little more ornamented, but withering often sooner. Sometimes
a worldly comfort is like Jonah's gourd ; it came up over his head
to be a shadow to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was ex-
ceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm, when
the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it
withered. So our worldly comfort sometimes grows up over our
head like a shadow, and we are exceeding glad of our gourd ; but
God prepares a worm, we faint, and are ready to die. Here we
have no continuing city ; but we seek one to come. This is a
wilderness : " Arise, depart, this is not thy rest, for it is polluted."
An experienced Christian looks upon everything here as not abid-
ing ; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that
are not seen are eternal. Second, Because everything is stainsd
with sin here. Even the natural scenery of this world is stained

* This is all that eiists of this Sermon, which wts memorable to many. It i'
1/ttle more than a sl;-.etcn.

SERMON VIII. 49

with sin. The thorns and thistles tell of a cursed earth. Above
all, when you look at the floods of ungodly men, " We are of God,
and the whole world lieth in wickedness." The world does not
know a Christian, and does not love him. Though you love
them, and would lay down your body that they might pass over
to glory, yet they will not hear. Above all, the sin in our own
heart makes us bend down under our burden, and feel this to be u
valley of weeping. Ah, wretched man ! if we had no body of
sin, what a sweet glory would appear in everything ; we would
sing like the birds in spring.

2. Coming out of it. — Unconverted souls are going down into
the wilderness to perish there. All Christians are coming up out
of it. Sabbath-days are like milestones — marking our way; or
rather they are like the wells we used to come to at evening.
Every real Christian is making progress. If the sheep are on the
shoulder of the shepherd, it is .always getting nearer the fold.
With some the shepherd takes long steps. Dear Christians, you
should be advancing, getting higher, nearer to Canaan, riper for
glory. In the south of Russia, the country is of vast plains, rising
by steps. Dear friends, you should get on to a higher place, up
another step every Sabbath-day. In travelling, you never think
of making a house in the wilderness. So, dear friends, do not
take up your rest here, we are journeying. Let all your endea-
vors be to get on in your journey.

3. Leaning upon her Beloved. — It is very observable that there
is none here but the bride and her beloved, in a vast wilderness.
She is not leaning upon him with one arm, and upon somebody
else with the other ; but she is leaning upon him alone. So it is
with the soul taught of God ; it feels alone with Christ in this
world ; it leans as entirely upon Christ as if there were no other
being in the universe. She leans all her weight upon her husband.
When a person has been saved from drowning, they lean all their
weight upon their deliverer. When the lost sheep was found, he
took it upon his shoulder. You must be content then to lean all
your weight upon Christ. Cast the burden of temporal things
upon him. Cast the care of your soul upon him. If God be lor
us, who can be against us ? They that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength. The eagle soars so directly upward that
poets have fancied it was aiming at the sun. So does the soul that
waits on Christ.

II. Christ's Word to the leaning soul.

1. " / raised thee up? &c. — He reminds the believer of his
natural state. Every soul now in Christ was once like anexrosed
infant (Ezek. xvi.), cast out into the open field. " Behold I was
shapen in iniquity." Do not forget what you were. If ever you
come to forget what you were, then you may be sure you are not
right with God. Observe when the contrition comes. When
4

50 SERMON IX.

you arc loaning on Christ, then he tells you of your sin and
misery. Ezek. xxxvi., 31.

2. He reminds you of his love, " I raised thee up." He himself
is the apple-tree, open on all sides round, affording shadow and
fruit. / raised thee. Christ not only shelters, but draws into the
shelter. " To him be glory." Are there not some who feel like
an infant — cast out ? Turn your eye to Christ, he only can raise
up your soul under the apple-tree.

III. TJie leaning soul cries for continued grace.

Set me as a seal. — It is a sure mark of grace to desire more
The High Priest had a beautiful breast-plate over his breast,
adorned with jewels — make me one of these. He had also a jewei
on each shoulder — make me one of these. These were bouna
with chains of gold ; but the believer with chains of love. This
is a true mark of grace. If you be contented to remain where
you are, without any more nearness to God. or any more holiness,
this is a clear mark you have got none. Hide me deeper, bind
me closer, and carry me more completely.

1. The love of Christ is strong as death. — Death is awfully
strong. When he comes upon a stout young man, he brings him
down. So is the love of Christ.

2. Cruel, or stubborn, as the grave. — The grave will not give up
its dead, nor will Christ give up his own. O pray that this love
may embrace you. Vehement as hell — unquenchable fire. You
have your choice, dear friends, of two eternal fires — " Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ," &c. Rom. viii. Floods
cannot drown it — afflictions cannot.

3. It cannot be bought. — " If a man would give all the sub-
stance," &c. You must accept it free or not at all.

Dundee, 1840.

SERMON IX.

' After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number of all
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and be-
fore the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands : and cried
with a loud v.oice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about
the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and wor-
shipped God, Saying, Amen : Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,
and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God, for ever and ever. Amen.
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are ar-
rayed in vrhite robes ? and whence came they ? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribu-
lation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamh. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temole : and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They

SERMON IX. 51

•hall hunger no n ore, neither thirst any more : neither shall the sun light on
.them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall
feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes." — Rev. vii., 9 to the end.

IT is one thing to read these words with a poet's eye, and another
thing to read them with the eye of a Christian. O pray, dear
friends, that the Spirit may tear away the veil from our hearts,
and show us the grand realities that are here. It is sweet and
profitable.

1. For the awakening of the ungodly, that you may see what
are the exercises of the heavenly world, and how unfit you would
be for them. I suppose many of you feel that you have not
washed your robes, and that you could not sing their song. Then
you must be on the road to hell.

2. For the instruction of believers. — It shows you what are the
chief employments of that happy world, where we shall so soon
be ; it gives vou the key-note of the heavenly song ; it teaches
you to spena much of your time in the same exercises in which
you shall spend eternity.

3. For comfort to afflicted believers. — It shows you how short
your trials will be. These light afflictions are but for a moment ;
you need not murmur nor grieve ; a little while and we shall be
with Christ, and God shall wipe away all your tears. For this
end it was given to John.

I. What John saw and heard.

1. A great multitude of all nations. — When John was on earth
he saw but few believers ; " we are of God, and the whole world
lieth in wickedness." The Church was like a lily in a field of
thorns, lambs in the midst of wolves ; but now quite different ;
thorns are plucked away ; the lilies innumerable. " Out of all
nations" — Perhaps he could discern his fellow-apostles, his own
brother James, and holy Paul, and angel-faced Stephen, the dark
Egyptian, the swarthy Ethiopian, the wool-headed negro, the far
distant Chinese, the Burman, the Hindoo, the blue-eyed German,
the dark-eyed Italian, and multitudes perhaps from a distant island
of the zsea. Every country had its representatives there, some
saved out of every land. All were like Christ, and yet all retained
their different peculiarities. Learn that Christ will have a glorious
crown. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.
Often, when I look at a large town like Dundee, and see so few
converted to Christ, my heart sickens with me ; I often feel as if
we were laboring for naught and in vain. Although there has
been so much blessing, yet such masses of ungodly families ! But
O cheer up, Christ shall have his full crown. Though there
should not be another saved out of this place, Christ will have his
full reward. We shall be quite satisfied when we soe the whole.
He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy. Learn the power

52 SERMON IX.

of his blood. Jt blots out the sins of all that multitude, sins oi
every name and dye. Why not yours ? Oh ! when such a glo
rious company are saved, why should you be lost? When so
mony are going out of this place, why should you keep back?

2. Their position. — They stood before the throne, yea, nearer
than the angels, for they stood round about. The redeemed stood
next the throne, the angels round them. This marks their com-
plete righteousness. But the ungodly cannot stand in the judg-
ment. If God were only to bring an ungodly man into his pre-
sence, he would die. You greatly mistake if you think God nee<ls
to put out great strength to destroy you. As a cloud is dried up
by being in the light of the sun, so you would perish at the pre-
sence of God as a moth in a candle. But this great company
stand next the throne, God's eye full upon them. In Christ they
stand, not in themselves. Nearer than angels ; the angels have
only creature-righteousness, these have on Creator-righteousness.
The righteousness of Christ is a million times more lovely than
that of the highest angel, therefore they stand nearer. The
righteousness of God is upon them all, who shall condemn ? If
you are ever to be near God, you may come freely to him now.
Why keep so far away ?

3. Their dress; white robes and palms. — They have all the
same dress, there is no difference. It is the garment of Christ.
One was a far greater believer than another, made far greater ad-
vances in holiness, yet the same dress. Whiter than the angels, v.
13. — The angels also are represented as dressed in white; yet it
would appear that their robes were far outshone by the bright
shining raiment of the redeemed. The angels have on creature
righteousness, the redeemed the righteousness of God. This is
what is now offered to you, sinners. Awakened persons are some-
times led to cry, " O that I had never sinned ;" but here is some-
thing better than if you had never sinned. Palms are signs of
victory. The Jews used to take branches of palms at the feast
of tabernacles, or ingathering, which was a type of heaven. The
angels have no palms ; for they have fought no light, they have
gained no victory. Every one that has a white robe has a palm.
Every one that is in Christ shall overcome. Be not afraid of your
enemies.

4. Their song. — The substance of it — Salvation. — They give God
all the glory. On earth, there are many that cannot befieve in an
electing God, that God chose them for no good in them ; but in
heaven they all feel it, and give him all the praise. On earth,
many speak of making themselves willing ; but in heaven they sing
"Salvation to God." On earth, many go about to establish their
own righteousness ; in heaven, "glory to the Lamb." On earth,
many take Christ as part of their righteousness, and their duties
as part ; in heaven all give glory to the Lamb. What say you to
this song ? Does it find an echo in your heart ? Remember you

SERMON IX. 53

must begin it now, if you are to sing it afterwards. The effect of it

it stirs up the hearts of the angels, verses 11, 12. — Often on earth,
when one believer begins to praise God for what he has done for
hi.s soul, it stirs up the hearts of others. So in heaven, when the
angels hear the voice of redeemed sinners, brands plucked out
of the fire, standing in near the throne, they will obtain a ravish-
ing view of the glory of God, his mercy and grace ; they will fall
down and worship God. They will not envy the redeemed their
place ; but on the contrary, be filled with intense praise by hear-
ing of what God has done for their souls. How do you feel when
you hear, of others being saved and brought nearer to God than
you ? L)o you envy and hate them, or do you fall down and
praise God for it ?

II. Their past history, verses 13, 14.

Two particulars are given. Each had a different history ; still
in these two they were alike.

1. They had washed their robes. — This leads us back to their
conversion. Once every one of that company had filthy garments.
They were like Joshua, their garments were spotted by the flesh.
It was like a garment with the leprosy in it. Some stained with
blood, spots of blood upon their garments ; some with adultery ;
some with disobedience to parents ; some with pride, falsehood,
evil speaking ; all, all were stained. Every one was convinced
that he could not make himself clean; he could not wash his
garments nor throw them off, he was brought to see himself lost
and helpless. Jesus was revealed to him, and his precious blood
shed for sinners, even the chief, saying to the heavy laden, " Come
to me." Of all that company there is not one stands there in any
otner way. All are washed in blood. It is their only way of
standing, have you been washed in blood ? You will find not
one in heaven who went there in any other way. You think to
go to heaven by your own decency, innocency, attention to duties.
Well, you would be the only such one there ; all are washed in
blood. Come and let us reason together.

2. They came out of great tribulation. — Every one that gets to
the throne must put their foot upon the thorn. The way to the
crown is by the cross. We must taste the gall if we are to taste
the glorv. When justified by faith, God led them into tribulations
also. When God brought Israel through the Red Sea, he led them
into the wilderness ; so when God saves a soul he tries it. He
never gives faith without trying it. The way to Zion is through
the valley of Baca. You must go through the wilderness of Jor-
dan if you are to come to the Land of Promise. Some believers
are much surprised when they are called to suffer. They .thought
they would do some great thing for God ; but all that God permits
them to do is to suffer. Go round every one in glory, every one
has a different story, yet every one has a tale of suffering. Ono

SERMON IX.

Was persecuted in his family, by his friends and companions
another was visited by sore pains and humbling disease, neglect-
ed by the world; another was bereaved of children; another had
all these afflictions meeting in one; deep called unto deep. Mark,
all are brought out of them. It was a dark cloud, but it passed
away ; the water was deep, but they have reached the other side.
Not one of them blames God for the road he led them ; " salvation"
is their only cry. Is there any of you, dear children, murmuring
at your lot ? Do not sin against God. This is the way God leads
all his redeemed ones. You must have a palm as well as a white
robe. No pain, no palm ; no cross, no crown ; no thorn, no
throne; no gall, no glory. Learn to glory in tribulations also.
"I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us."

III. Future history.

1. Immediate service of God. — Here, we are allowed to spend
much of our time in our worldly callings. It is lawful for a man
to win his bread, to plough, sow, reap, to spin and weave. Then,
all our strength will be put forth in the immediate service of God.
We shall stand before him and he shall dwell among us. It \\ill
be a perpetual Sabbath. We shall spend eternity in loving God,
in adoring, admiring, and praising God. We should spend much
of our present time in this. Some people imagine that they are
not serving God unless they are visiting the sick, or engaged in
some outward service ; whereas the highest of all service is the
love of adoration in the soul. Perhaps God gets more glory by a
single adoring look of some poor believer on a sick bed, than from
the outward labors of a whole day.

2. Not in the wilderness any more. — At present we are like a
flock in the wilderness, our soul often hungry, and thirsty, and
sorely tried. Often we feel as if we could go no further,but must
lie down and die. Often we feel temptations too much for us, or
persecutions too strong for us to bear. When we are with
Christ we shall hunger no more, all our pains shall be ended.
Learn to glorify him in the fires, to sing in the wilderness. This
is the only world where you can give God the glory.

3. Father, Son, and Spirit will bless us. — The Lamb shall feed
us — he that died for us. We shall always see our security before
us in our Surety ; no trembling shall ever come over our soul.
He shall be one like us — a lamb — like the least of us : we shall
learn of God from him. The Spirit will be like "living fountains
of water." Here, we never have enough ; there, without mea-
sure. The Father will be a father to us. He will wipe away
tears ; the tears we shed in dying ; wilderness tears ; the tears
over lost friends, and a perishing world. " What manner of
persons ought we to be 1"

Dundee, 1840.

SERMON X. 55

SERMON X.

* For verily he took not on him the nature of angels : but he took on him the seea
of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertain-
ing to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he
himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are
tempted."— Heb. ii., 16-18.

Doctrine. — Christ a merciful High Priest.

I. The sovereign mercy of Christ in becoming man. — ;< For
verily he took not on him the nature of angels ; but he took on
him the seed of Abraham." We read of two great rebellions in
the history of the universe — the rebellion of the angels, and the
rebellion of man. For infinitely wise and gracious purposes God
planned and permitted both of these, that out of evil he might
bring forth good. The first took place in heaven itself. Pride
was the sin by which the angels fell, and, therefore, it is called
" the condemnation of the devil." " They kept not their first
estate, but left their own habitation." " God spared them not, but
cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of dark-
ness, to be reserved unto judgment." The next fall took place on
earth. Satan tempted, and man fell ; believed the devil rather
than God, and so came under the curse. " Thou shall surely
die." Both of these families came under the same frown, under
the same condemnation, both were condemned to the same
" everlasting fire." But the glorious Son of God resolved, from
all eternity, to die for sinners. Now, for which of the two shall
he die ? Perhaps the angels in heaven would long that he should
die for their once brother angels. The angelic nature was
higher than that of man. Men had fallen deeper into sin than the
rebel angels. Will he not die for angels ? Now, here is the
answer — " Verily he took not on him the nature of angels ; but he
took on him the seed of Abraham." Here is sovereign mercy
passing by one family and coming to another. Let us wonder and
adore the sovereign mercy of Jesus.

1. Do not be surprised if Jesus passes many by. The Lord
Jesus has been riding through our country in a remarkable m;m-
ner, seated on his white horse, and wearing many crowns. He
has sent out many arrows and pierced many hearts in this place
and brought many to his feet ; but has he not passed many by •
Are there not many given up to their own hearts' lust, and walk
ing in their own counsel ? Be not surprised. This is the verf
way he did when he came to this earth ; he passed the gate o;
hell. Although his bosom was full of love and grace, although
" God is love," he felt it not inconsistent to pass fallen angels by
and to come and die for men. And so, though Jesus is love still

56 SERMON X.

yet he can save some, and leave others to be hardened. " Many
widows were in Israel in the time of Elijah the prophet ; but unto
none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Zidon,
.unto a woman that was a widow." And many lepers were in
Israel at the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was
cleansed, saving Naarnan, the Syrian.

2. If Christ has visited your soul, give him all the glory. " Not
unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." The
only reason why you are saved is the sovereign compassion of
Jesus. It is not that you are better than others, that you were
less wicked, of better dispositions, more attentive to your Bible.
Many who have been left have been much more blameless in their
life. It is not that you have sat under a peculiar ministry. God
has made the same ministry a means of hardening multitudes. It
is the free grace of God. Love God for ever and ever, because
he chose you of his own free will. Adore Jesus, that he passed
by millions, and died for you. Adore the holy Ghost, that he came
out of free sovereign mercy and awakened you. It will be matter
of praise through eternity.

3. If Christ is now visiting your soul, do not trifle with him.
Some persons, when Christ begins to knock at the door of their
heart, put him oft' from time to time. They trifle with their con-
victions. They say, I am too young yet, let me taste a little more
pleasure of the world ; youth is the time for mirth ; another time
I will open the door. Some say, I am too busy ; I have to pro-
vido for my family ; when I have a more convenient season I will
call for thee. Some say, I am strong and healthy ; I hope I have
many years to live ; when sickness comes, then I will open the
door. Consider that Christ may not come again. He is knock-
ing i:ow ; let him in. Another day he may pass by your door.
You cannot command convictions of sin to come when you like.
Christ is entirely sovereign in saving souls. No doubt, many of
you have had your last knock from Christ. Many of you that
were once concerned, are not so now ; and you cannot bring it
back again. There is no doubt a time in every man's liie when,
if he opens the door, he will be saved ; if he does not he will
perish. Probably this may be that time to many of you. Christ
may be giving last knocks to some to-day.

II. Christ made like us in all things. — Christ not only became
man, but it behooved him to be made like us in all things. He
suffered, being tempted.

In my last lecture, I showed you the only two points in which
he was different from us. 1. In being God as well as man. In
the manger at Bethlehem, there lay a perfect infant, but there also
was Jehovah. That mysterious being who rode on an ass's colt,
and wept over Jerusalem, was as much a man as you are, and as
much God as the Father is. The tears he shed were human tears,

SERMON X. 57

yet the love of Jehovah swelled below his mantle. That pale
being that hung quivering on the cross was indeed man, it wag
hun an blood that flowed from his wounds, but he was as truly
God. 2. In being without sin. He was the only one in human
form of whom it can be said, He was holy, harmless, undented
and separate from sinners ; the only one on whom God could look
down from heaven and say. This is my beloved Son in whom I
am well pleased. Every member of our body and faculty of our
mind we have used as the servants of sin. Every member of his
body and faculty of his mind were used only as servants to holi-
ness. His mouth was the only human mouth from which none
but gracious words ever proceeded. His eye was the only hu-
man eye that never shot forth flames of pride, or envy, or lust.
His hand was the only human hand that never was stretched forth
but in doing good. His heart was the only human heart that was
not deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. When
Satan came to him, he found nothing in him. Now, in these two
things it behooved him to be unlike his brethren, or he could not
have been a Saviour at all. In all other things it behooved him to
be made like us. There was no part of our condition that he did
not humble himself unto.

1. He passed through all the terms of our life from childhood
to manhood. 1st, He was an infant of days, exposed to all the
pains and dangers of infancy. " Ye shall find the babe, wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." 2d, He bore the trials
and pains of boyhood. Many a one, no doubt, would wonder at
the holy boy in the carpenter's shop at Nazareth. He grew in
wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and man. 3d, He
bore the afflictions and anxieties of manhood, when he began to
be about thirty years of age.

2. He tasted the difficulties of many situations in life. The first
thirty years, it is probable, he shared the humble occupation of
Joseph the carpenter ; he tasted the trials of working for his daily
bread. Then he subsisted on the kindness of others. Certain
women, which followed him, ministered unto him of their sub-
stance. He had not where to lay his head. Many a night he
spent on the Mount of Olives, or on the hills of Galilee. Then,
he bore the trials of a gospel minister. He preached from morn-
ing till night, and yet with how small success ; s% that he could
say, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught
and in vain." How often he was grieved by their unbelief ; he
marvelled at their unbelief ! " O faithless generation ! how long
shall I be with you, how long shall I suffer you ?" How often he
offended many by his preaching ! " Many said, this is an hnrd
saying ; who can bear it?" " From that time many of his disciples
went back, and walked no more with Jesus;" John vi., 66. How
often they hated him for his love ! " For my love they are my
adversaries : but I gave myself unto prayer ;" Ps. cix., 4. How

58 SERMON X.

his own disciples grieved him by their want of, faith ! " 0 ye of
little faith, have I been so long time with you !" The unbeliei
of Thomas — their sleeping in the garden — forsaking him and
fleeing — Peter denying— Judas betraying him !

3. What trials he had from his own family ! Even his own
brothers did not believe on him, but mocked. The people of his
town tried to throw him over the rocks. What pain he suffered
from his mother, when he saw the sword piercing her fond heart !
Now he said to John, " Behold thy mother !" and to his mother,
•* Behold thy son !" even in the midst of his dying agonies.

4. What trials from Satan ! Believers complain of Satan, but
they never felt his power as Christ did. What an awful conflict
was that during forty days in the wilderness ! How fearfully did
Satan urge on Pharisees, and Herod, and Judas, to torment him !
What an awful hour was that, when he said, " This is your hour,
and the power of darkness !" What an awful cry was that, " Save
me from the lion's mouth !" (Psalm xxii., 22) when he felt his soul
in the very jaws of Satan !

5. What trials from God ! Believers often groan under the
hidings of God's countenance, but ah ! they seldom taste even a
drop of what Christ drank. What dreadful agony was that in
Gethsemane, when the blood gushed through the pores ! How
dreadful was that frown of God on the cross, when he cried,
" My God, my God !" In all these things, and a thousand more,
he was made like unto his brethren. He came into our place.
Through eternity we shall study these sufferings.

1st, Learn the amazing love of Christ, that he should leave glory
for such a condition.

2d, Learn to bear sufferings cheerfully. You have not yet suf-
fered as he did.

III. — The end— That he might be a merciful and faithful High
Priest. — The work of Christ as an high priest is here laid down
as two-fold. 1. To make an atonement for our sins ; 2. To suc-
cor his people under temptations.

1. To make atonement. — This is the great work of Christ as
our high priest. For this it was needful that he should become
man, and die. Had he remained God alone in the bosom of his
Father, he might have pitied us, but he could not have died for
us, nor taken our sins away. We must have perished. Every
priest in the Old Testament was a type of Jesus in this : every
lamo that was slain typified Jesus offering up his own body a
sacrifice for our sins.

Let your eye rest there if you would be happy. Those few
dark hours on Calvary, when the great high priest was offering
up the amazing sacrifice, give light for eternity to the believing
soul. This only will cheer you in dying. Not your graces, nor
your love to Christ ; not anything in you, but only this — ChrisJ

SERMON X. 59

Hath died. He loved me, and gave himself for me. Christ hath
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

2. To succor the tempted. — All believers are a tempted people.
Every day they have their trials ; every time is to them a time
of need. The unconverted are little tempted ; they are not in
trouble as others, neither are they plagued like other men. They
do not feel temptations rising in their heart ; nor do they know
the power of Satan. Before conversion, a man believes as little
in the devil as he believes in Christ. But when a man comes to
Christ, then he becomes a tempted soul. " poor and needy, seeking
water, and there is none."

He is tempted by God. — God did tempt Abraham ; not to sin,
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
man. Still, God always tries his children. He never gives faith,
but he brings his child into a situation where it will be tried.
Sometimes he exalts him, to try if he will turn proud and forget
God ; sometimes he brings him low, to see if he will murmur
against God. Blessed is the man that endureth temptations.
Sometimes he brings them into a strait, where the trial is, whether
they will believe in him alone, or trust to flesh and blood.

The world tempts a child of God. — They watch for their halting
They love nothing better than to see a child of God fall into sin ;
it soothes their conscience to think that all are equally bad.
They frown, they smile.

Tkeir own heart is a fountain of temptation. — Sometimes it
says, What harm is there in that? it is a little sin ; or, I will just
sin this once, and never again; or, I will repent after and be
saved.

Satan hurls his fiery darts. — He terrifies them away from
Christ, disturbs them at prayer, fills their mind with blasphemies,
hounds on the world against them.

Ah ! believers, you are a tempted people. You are always
poor and needy. And God intends it should be so, to give you
constant errands to go to Jesus. Some may say, it is not good to *
be a believer ; but ah ! see to whom we can go.

We have a merciful and faithful High Priest. He suffered be-
ing tempted, just that he might succor them that are tempted.
The high priest of old not only offered sacrifice at the altar, his
work was not dune when the lamb was consumed. He was to be
a faiher to Israel. He carried all their names, graven over hia
heart ; he went in and prayed for them within the veil. He came
out and blessed the people, saying, " The Lord bless thee, and keep
thee. The Lord make his face shine," &c. ; Numbers vi., 24-26.

So it is with the Lord Jesus. His work was not all done on
Calvary. He that died for our sins lives to pray for us, to help
in every time of need. He is still man on the right hand of God.
He is still God, and therefore, by reason of nis divinity, is present
here this day as much as any of us. He knows your every sor»

60 SERMON XI.

row, trial, difficulty ; every half breathed sigh he hears, and bringi
in notice thereof to his human heart at the right hand of God. Hia
human heart is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ; it pleads
for you, thinks on you, plans deliverance for you.

Dear tempted brethren ! Go boldly to the throne of grace, to
obtain mercy and find grace to help in your time of need.

Are you bereaved of one you loved ? Go and tell Jesus ;
spread out your sorrows at his feet. He knows them all ; feels
for you in them all. He is a merciful high priest. He is faithful,
too, never awanting in the hour of need. He is able to succor
you by his word, by his spirit, by his providence. He gave you
all the* comfort you had by your friends. He can give it you
without them. He has taken away the stream that you may go
to the fountain.

Are you suffering in body ? Go to this high priest. He is in-
timately acquainted with all your diseases ; he has felt that very
pain. Remember how, when they brought to him one that was
deaf and had an impediment in his speech, he looked up to heaven
and sighed, and said. Ephphatha ! He sighed over his misery.
So he sighs over you. He is able to give you deliverance, or
patience to bear it, or improvement by it.

Are you sore tempted in soul ; put into trying circumstances, so
that you know not what to do ? Look up ; he is able to succor
you. If he had been on the earth would you not have gone tc
him? would you not have kneeled and said, Lord help meT Does
it make any difference that he is at the right hand of God ? He
is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

SERMON XL

ORDINATION SERMON.

Jit the Ordination of the Rev. P. L. Miller, Wallacetown, Dundee, 1840.

•I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the
quick and the dead at his appearing, and his kingdom ; preach the word ; be in-
stant in season, out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering
and doctrine." — 2 Tim. iv., 1, 2.

I. Where faithful ministers stand — " Before God and the Lora
Tesus Christ" — There is not a more awfully affecting situation in
ihe whole world than that in which a faithful minister stands.

1. Before God. — This is true in two ways:

1st, As a sinner saved by grace. He was once far off, but rs
now brought nigh by the blood of Jesus. Having " boldness to

SERMON XI.

enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living
way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to
say his flesh," he draws near. He stands within the veil, in the
holiest of all, in the love of God. He is justified before God. A
faithful minister is an example to his flock of a sinner saved. God
says to him as he did to Abraham, " Walk before me and be thou
perfect." He can say with Paul, " I was a blasphemer, and a
persecutor, and injurious, but I obtained mercy." A faithful
minister is like Aaron's rod that was laid up beside the ark of God,
and budded there.

2d, As a servant. — In the East, servants always stand in the
presence of their master, watching his hand. The Queen of
Sheba said to Solomon, " Happy are these thy servants which
stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom." So it is
said of the angels that " they do always behold the face of my
Father which is in heaven." Even when most engaged in the
service of the saints, they feel under his all-seeing, holy, living
eye. So ovglit faithful ministers to feel. They should feel con-
stantly in his presence, under his soul-piercing, gentle-guiding,
holy, living eye. " I will guide thee with mine eye." " The
eyes of the Lord are over the righteous." Ah ! how often we feel
we are before man. Then all power withers, and we become
weak as other men ; but oh ! how sweet to feel in the presence
of God, as if there were no eye on us but God's. In prayer, how
sweet to feel before Him : to kneel at his footstool, and to put our
hand upon the mercy-seat — no curtain, no veil, no cloud between
the snul and God. In preaching, how sweet to say, like Elijah,
when he stood before Ahab, " I stand before the Lord God of
Israel." To stand at his feet, in his family, in his pavilion, O
believers, it is then we get above the billows. The applause of
men, the rage and contempt of men, then pass by us like the idle
wind which we regard not. Thus is a rninisterjike a rock in the
ocean ; the mountain-billows dash upon its brow7 and yet it stands
unshaken.

2. Before Jesus Christ. — This is also true in two ways :
1st, The faithfal minister has a present sight of Christ as his
Righteousness. He is like John the Baptist, " Seeing Jesus com-
ing unto him he saith, Behold the Lamb of God !" Or like Isaiah,
"He saw his gl'»ry and spake of him." His own soul is ever
watching at Gethsemane and Golgotha. O brethren, it is thus
only we can ever speak with leil.ng, or with power, or with
truth, of the unsearchable riches of Christ. We must have the
taste of the manna in our mouth, *' Milk and honey under our
tongue," else we cannot tell of its sweetness. We must be drink-
ing the living water from the smitten rock, or we cannot speak
of its refreshing power. We must be hiding our guilty souls in
the wounds of Jesus, or we cannot with joy speak of the peace
and rest to be found there. This is the reason why unfaithful

62 SERMON XI.

ministers are cold and barren in their labor. They speak, like
Balaam, of a Saviour whose grace they do not feel. They speak
like Caiaphas, of the blood of Christ, without having felt its
power to speak peace to the troubled heart. This is the reason
why many good men have a barren ministry. They speak from
clear head-knowledge, or from past experience, but not from a
present grasp of the truth, not from a present sight of the Lamb
of God. Hence their words fall like a shower of snow, fair and
beautiful, but cold and freezing. The Lord give us to stand in
the presence of the Lord Jesus.

2d. The faithful minister should feel the presence of a living
Saviour. A minister should be like the bride in the song, " Lean-
ing upon her beloved." This was Jeremiah's strength (i., 8),
" Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee
saith the Lord." So it was with Paul (Acts xviii., 10), " Be not
afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace : for I am with thee, and
no man shall set on thee to hurt thee ; for I have much people in
this city." So Jesus told all the disciples, " Yet a little while
and the world seeth me not, but ye see me. Because I live
ye shall live also." And again he says expressly, " Lo, I am with
you alway, even to the end of the world." Yes, brethren, Christ
is as truly walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks,
as truly in this place to-day, as if you saw him with your bodily
eyes. His humanity is at the right hand of God, appearing in the
presence of God for us. His Godhead fills all in all. Thus he is
with us, standing at our right hand, so that he cannot be moved.
It is sweet to know and feel this. Thus only can we be sustained
amid all the trials of the ministry. Are we weary ? we can
lean, like John, upon his bosom. Are we burdened with a sense
of sin ? we can hide in the clefts of that rock of ages. Are we
empty? we can look up to him for immediate supply. Are we
hated of all men ? we can hide under his wings. Stand before ths
Lord Jesus Christ, and then you may smile at Satan's rage, and
face a frowning world. Learn here also the guilt of refusing a
gospel ministry. " He that refuseth you refuseth me ; and he that
refuseth me refuseth Him that sent me."

3. Within sight of judgment, — " Who shall judge the quick and
dead." — Ministers and their flocks shall meet together before the
throne of the Lord Jesus. That will be a solemn day. They
have many solemn meetings on earth. An Ordination day is a
solemn day. Their meetings from Sabbath to Sabbath are solemn
meetings ; and Sacrament days are very solemn days. But their
meeting at the judgment seat will be by far the most solemn of
all. Then,

1st, The minister will give in his account either with joy or with
grief. He will no more meet to plead with the people, or to pray
with them, but to bear witness how they received the word. O"
come he will give account with a joyful countenance, that they

SERMON XI. 63

received the word with all readiness of mind, that they were con-
verted and became like little children ; these will be his joy and
crown. Of most with grief, that he carried the message to them,
but they would not come, they made light of it ; or perhaps they
listened for awhile, but drew back into perdition. He will be a
swift witness against them in that day. " Depart, ye cursed."

2d, Then the people will give in their account of the minister.
If he was faithful ; if he made it his meat and drink to do the will
of God ; if he preached the whole truth with seriousness, urgency,
iove ; if he was holy in his life ; if he preached publicly, and from
house to house : then that minister shall shine like the stars. If
he was unfaithful ; if he fed himself but not the flock ; if he did
not seek the conversion of souls ; did not travail in birth ; if he
sought his own eas?, his own wealth, his own praise, and not their
souls : then shall the loud curses of ruined souls fall on that wretched
man, and God shall say, Take the unfaithful servant, and bind him
hand and foot, and cast him into outer darkness. O believers, it
is the duty of ministers to preach with this solemn day in their
eye. We should stand, like Abraham, looking down on the smoke
of Sodom ; like John, listening to the new song and golden harps
of the New Jerusalem. Would not this take away the fear of
man? Would not this make us urgent in our preaching? You
must either get these souls into Christ, or you will yet see them
lying down in everlasting burnings. O brethren, did I not say
truly that the place where a minister stands is the most solemn
spot in all this world ?

II. The grand business of the faithful minister — Described in
two ways: 1. Generally — Preach the Word. 2. More in de-
tail— Reprove, rebuke, exhort.

1. Preach the Word. — The grand work of the minister, in which
he is to lay out his strength of body and mind, is preaching. Weak
and foolish as it may appear, this is the grand instrument which
God has put into our hands, by which sinners are to be saved, and
saints fitted for glory. It pleased God, by the foolishness of preach-
ing, to save them that believe. It was to this our blessed Lord
devoted the years of his own ministry. Oh ! what an honor has
he put upon this work, by preaching in the synagogues, in the
temple, and by the blue waves of Galilee, under the canopy of
heaven. Has he not consecrated this world as preaching ground ?
This was the grand work of Paul and all the apostles ; for this
was our Lord's command, "Go ye into all the world and preach
the Gospel." O brethren, this is our great work. It is well to
vis^t the sick, and well to educate children, and clothe the naked.
It is well to attend Presbyteries. It is well to write books or read
them ; but here is the main thing — Preach the Word. The pulpit
is, as George Herbert says, " our joy and throne." This is our
watch-tower. Here we must warn the people. The silver

64 SERMON XI.

trumpet is put into our hand. Woe be unto us if we preach not
the Gospel.

The Matter — the Word. — It is in vain we preach, if we preach
not the word — the truth as it is in Jesus.

1st, Not other matters. " Ye are my witnesses." " The same
came to bear witness of that light." We are to speak of nothing
but what we have seen and heard from God. It is not the work
of the minister to open up schemes of human wisdom or learn-
ing, nor to bring his own fancies, but to tell the acts and glories of
the Gospel. We must speak of what is within the Word of God.

2d, Preach the Word ; the most essential parts especially. If
you were with a dying man, and knew he had but half an hour
to live, what would you tell him ? Would you open up some of
the curiosities of the Word, or enforce some of the moral com-
mands of the Word ? Would you not tell him his undone condi-
tion by nature and by wicked works ? Would you not tell him
of the love and dying of the Lord Jesus ? Would you not tell
him of the power of the Holy Spirit ? These are the essential
things which a man must receive or perish. These are the great
subject-matters of preaching. Should we not preach as Jesus did
when he went to Emmaus, when he began at Moses and all the
prophets, and expounded to them the things concerning himself?
Let there be much of Christ in your ministry, says the excellent
Eliot. Rowland Hill used to say, See there be no sermon with-
out three R's in it : Ruin by the fall, Righteousness by Christ, and
Regeneration by the Spirit. Preach Christ for awakening, Christ
for comforting, Christ for sanctifying. " God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.''

3d, Preach as the Word. I would humbly suggest for the con-
sideration of all ministers, whether we should not preach more in
the manner of God's Word. Is not the Word the sword of the
Spirit ? Should not our great work be to take it from its scab-
bard, to cleanse it from all rust, and then apply its sharp edge to
the consciences of man ? It is certain the fathers used to preach
in this manner. Brown, of Haddington, used to preach as if he
had read no other book than the Bible. It is the truth of God in
its naked simplicity that the Spirit will most honor and bless.
" Sanctify them through thy truth : thy Word is truth."

2. Reprove, rebuke, exhort. — The first work of the Spirit on the
natural heart is to reprove the world of sin. Although he is the
Spirit of love, although a dove is his emblem, although he be
compared to the soft wind and gentle dew, still his first work is
to convince of sin. If ministers are filled with the same Spirit,
they will begin in the same way. It is God's usual method to
awaken them, and bring them to despair of salvation by their own
righteousness, before he reveals Christ to them. So it was with
the jailor. So it was with Paul ; he was blind three days. A
faithful minister must lay himself out for this. Plough up the fal-

SERMON XI. 65

low-grouna, and sow not among thorns. Men must be brought
down by law work to see their guilt and misery, or all our preach-
ing is beating the air. O brethren, is this our ministry ? Let us
do this plainly. The most, I fear, in all our congregations, are
sailing easily down the stream into an undone eternity, unconvert-
ed and unawakened. Brethren, they will not thank us in eterni.y
for speaking smooth things — for sewing pillows to their arm-holes,
and crying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. No ; they
may praise us now, but they will curse our flattery in eternity.
O for the bowels of Jesus Christ in every minister, that we might
long after them all ! Exhort. — The original word means to com-
fort, to speak as the Comforter does. This is the second part of
the Spirit's work, to lead to Christ, to speak good news to the
soul. This is the most difficult part of the Christian ministry.
Thus did John, " Behold the Lamb of God." Thus did Isaiah,
" Comfort ye, comfort ye." Thus did our Lord command, "Go,
preach the gospel to every creature." It is true this makes the
feet of the gospel messenger beautiful on the mountains. He has
to tell of a full, free, Divine Saviour.

And here I would observe, what appears to me a fault in the,
preaching of our beloved Scotland. Most ministers are accustomed
to set Christ before the people. They lay down the gospel clearly
and beautifully, but they do not urge men to enter in. Now, God
says, exhort, beseech men, persuade men ; not only point to the
open door, but compel them to come in. O to be more merciful
to souls, that we would lay hands on men, and draw them into the
Lord Jesus !

III. The manner.

•1. With long-suffering. — There is no grace more needed in the
Christian ministry than th s. This is the heart of God the Father
towards sinners ; " he is long-sufForing to usward, not willing that
any should perish." This is the heart of the Lord Jesus. How
tenderly does he cry, " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would
I," &c. This is the mind of the Holy Spirit in striving with men.
He will not always strive, but, oh ! how long he does strive with
men ! Dear believers, had he not striven long with us, we would
this day have been like Lot's wife, monuments of grace resisted.
Now, such ought ministers to be. Above all men we need "love
that suffers long and is kind." Sometimes, when sinners are ob-
itinate and hard-hearted, we are tempted to give up in despair,
or to lose temper and scold them — like the disciples calling down
fire from heaven. But, brethren, we must be of another spirit.
The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Only
be filled with the spirit of Christ, and it will make us patient
toward all. It will make us cry, " How often would I," &c.

2. With doctrine. — Some good men cry, Flee, flee, without
•bowing the sinner what he is to flee from ; and again, they cry,
5

66 SERMON XI.

Come, come, without showing plainly the way of pardon and
peace. These men act as one would do who should run through
the streets crying. Fire, lire, without telling where. In the preach-
ing of the Apostles, you will observe the clear and simple state-
ment of the truth preceding the warm and pathetic exhortation.
This has always been followed by the most judicious and success-
ful divines.

It behooves ministers to unite the cherub and the seraph in their
ministry — the angel of knowledge and the angel of burning zeal.
If we would win souls, we must point clearly the way to heaven,
while we cry, Flee from the wrath to come. I believe we cannot
lay down the guilt of man, his total depravity, and the glorious
gospel of Christ, too clearly ; that we cannot urge men to embrace
and flee too warmly. O for a pastor who unites the deep know-
ledge of Edwards, the vast statements of Owen, and the vehement
appeals of Richard Baxter !

3. With urgency. — If a neighbor's house were on fire, would we
not cry aloud and use every exertion ? If a friend were drown-
ing, would we be ashamed to strain every nerve to save him ?
But alas ! the souls of our neighbors are even now on their way to
everlasting burnings — they are ready to be drowned in the depths
of perdition. Oh ! shall we be less earnest to save their never-
dying souls, than we would be to save their bodies ? How anxious
was the Lord Jesus in this — when he came near and beheld the
city, he wept over it ! How earnest was Paul, " Remember that
by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night
and day with tears." Such was George Whitfield ; that great
man scarcely ever preached without being melted into tearw.
Brethren, there is need of the same urgency now. Hell is as
deep and as burning as ever. Unconverted souls are as surely
rushing to it. Christ is as free — pardon as sweet as ever ! Ah !
how we shall be amazed at our coldness when we do get to heaven !

4. At all times. — Our Lord went about continually doing good ;
ne made it his meat and drink. " Daily in the temple." So should
we. Satan is busy at all times ; he does not stand upon ceremony,
he does not keep himself to Sabbath-days, or canonical hours.
Death is busy. Men are dying while we are sleeping. About
fifty die every minute ; nearly one every second entering into an
unchangeable world ! The Spirit of God is busy. Blessed be
God, he hath cast our lot in times when there is the moving of the
great Spirit among the dry bones. Shall ministers then be idle,
or stand upon ceremony ? O that God would baptize us with
the Holy Ghost and with fire, that we might be all changed as into
a flame of fire, preaching and building up Christ's Church till our
latest, our dying hour.

CHARGE TO THE MINISTER.

MY DEAR BROTHER — It is not many years ago since you and J

SERMON XI. 67

played together as children, and now, by the wonderful providence
of God. I have been appointed to preside at your ordination to the
office of the holy ministry. Truly His way is in the sea, and His
path in the deep waters. Do not think, then, that I mean to as-
sume an authority which I have not. I cannot speak to you as a
father, but, as a brother beloved in the Lord, let me address a few
words of counsel to you.

1. Thank God for putting you into the ministry. " I thank
Christ Jesus my Lord for that he counted me faithful, putting me
into the ministry." " To me who am less than the least of all saints,"
&c. O brother, thank God for saving your soul — for sending His
spirit into your heart, and drawing you to Christ. But this day you
have a new cause of thankfulness in being put into the ministry. It is
the greatest honor in this world. " Had I a thousand lives, I would
willingly spend them in it ; and had I a thousand sons, I would gladly
devote them to it." True, it is an awfully responsible office : the
eternity of thousands depends on your faithfulness ; but ah ! the
grace is so full, and the reward so glorious. If, said the dying
Payson, " If ministers only snvv the prcciousness of Christ, they
would not be able to refrain from clapping their hands with joy,
and exclaiming, I am a minister of Christ ! I am a minister of
Christ ! " Do not forget, then, dear brother, amid the broken ac-
cents of confession from a broken heart, to pour out a song of
thankfulness. Thanks be to God, for my own part, during the few
years I have been a minister, I can truly say, that I desire no other
honor upon earth than to be allowed to preach the everlasting
gospel. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.

2. Seek the anointing of the Holy Spirit. — The more anointing
of the Holy Spirit you have, the more will you be a happy, holy,
and successful minister. You remember the two olive trees that
stood close by the golden candlestick, and emptied the golden oil
out of themselves. These represent successful ministers, anointed
ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. The Lord make
you like one of them. Remember John the Baptist — " He shall
be filled with the Holy Ghost, and many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God." The Lord fill you in like
manner, and then you will be a converting minister. Remember
the Apostles ; before the day of Pentecost they were dry, sapless
trees — they had little fruit ; but when the Spirit came on them
like a mighty rushing wind, then three thousand were pricked to
the heart.

Oh ! brother, plead with God to fill you with the Spirit, that you
may stand in his counsel, and cause the people to hear His words,
and turn many from the evil of their ways. You know that a
heated iron, though blunt, can pierce its way even where a much
sharper instrument, if cold, could not enter. Pray that you may
be filled with the fire of the Spirit, that you may pierce into the
hard hearts of unconverted sinners.

68 SERMON XI.

3. Do not rest without success in your ministry. — Success is the
rule under a living ministry ; want of success is the exception.
" The want of ministerial »uccess," says Robinson, " is a tremendous
circiunstance, never to be contemplated without horror." Your
people will be of two kinds: —

(1st,) The Lord's people. — Those who are already in Christ,
seek for success among them. He gave some pastors and teach-
ers for the perfecting of the saints. Never forget Christ's words,
"Feed my sheep, feed my lambs." Be like Barnabas, a son of
consolation. Exhort them to cleave to the Lord. Do not say,
M They are sate and I will let them alone." This is a great mis-
take. See how Paul laid out his strength in confirming the dis-
ciples. Be a helper of their joy. Do not rest till you get them to
live under the pure, holy rules of the Gospel.

(2d.) The great mass you will find to be unconverted. Go,
brother, leaving the ninety-nine, go after the one sheep that was
lost. Leave your home, your comforts, your bed, your ease, your
all, to feed lost souls. The Lord of Glory left heaven for this : it
is enough for the disciple to be as his Master. It is said of Alleine,
that "he w is infinitely and insatiably greedy of the conversion of
souls." Rutheriurd wrote to his dear people, "My witness is
above, that your heaven would be two heavens to me, and the sal-
vatiun of you all as two salvations to me." The Lord give you
this heavenly compassion for this people. Do not be satisfied with-
out conversion. You will often find that there is a shaking among
the dry bones, a coming together bone to his bone ; skin and flesh
come upon them, but no breath in them. Oh ! brother, cry for the
breath of heaven. Remember a moral sinner will lie down in the
same hell w,th the v.lest.

4. Lead a holy life. — I believe, brother, that you are born from
above, and, therefore, I have confidence in God touching you, that
you will be kept from the evil. But, oh ! study universal holiness
of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this. Your sermon
on Sabbath lasts but an hour or two; your life preaches all the
week. Remember,. ministers are standard-bearers. Satan aims
his fiery darts at them. If he can only make you a covetous min-
ister, or a lover of pleasure, or a lover of praise, or a lover of good
eating, then he has ruined your ministry for ever. Ah ! let him
preach on fifty years, he will never do me any harm. Dear brother,
cast yourself at the feet of Christ, implore his Spirit to make you
a holy man. Take heed to thyself and to thy doctrine.

5. Last of all, be a man of prayer. — Give yourself to prayer
and to the ministry of the Word. If yor do not pray, God will
probably lay you aside from your ministry, as he did me, to teach
you to pray. Remember Luther's maxim, " Bene orasse est bene
ttuduisse." Get your texts from God, your thoughts, your words,
from God. Carry the names of the little flock upon your breast
like the High Priest, wrestle for the unconve '*d. lather spent

SERMON XI. 69

his three best hours in prayer. John Welch prayed seven or eight
hours a day. He used to keep a plaid on his bed that he might
wrap himself in it when he rose during night. Sometimes his wife
found him on the ground lying weeping. When she complained, he
would say, " O, woman ! I have the souls of three thousand to
answer for, and I know not how it is with many of them." Oh !
that God would pour down this spirit of prayer on you and me,
and all the ministers of our beloved Church, and then we shall sre
better days in Scotland. I commend you to God, &c.

CHARGE TO THE PEOPLE.

DEAR BRETHREN — I trust that this is to be the beginning of
many happy days to you in this place. Gifts in answer to prayer are
always the sweetest. I believe your dear pastor has been given
you in answer to prayer, for I do not think your wonderful unani-
mity can be accounted for in any other way.

1. Love your pastor. — So far as I know him he is worthy of
your love. I believe he is one to whom the Lord has been very
merciful, that God has already owned his labors, and I trust, will
a thousand times more. Esteem him very highly in love for his
work's sake. You little know the anxieties, temptations, pains,
and wrestlings, he will be called to bear for you. Few people
know the deep wells of anxiety in the bosom of a faithful pastor.
Love and reverence him much. Do not make an idol of him ;
that will destroy his usefulness. It was. said of the Erskines that
men could not see Christ over their heads. Remember, look be-
yond him and above him. Those that would have worshipped
Paul were the people who stoned him. Do not stumble at his in-
firmities. There are spots upon the sun, and infirmities in the best
of men. Cover them, do not stumble at them. Would you re-
fuse gold because it was brought you in a ragged purse ? Would
you refuse pure water because it came in a chipped bowl ? The
treasure is in an earthen vessel.

2. Make use of your pastor. — He has come with good news
from a far country. Come and hear.

(1st,) Wait patiently on his ministry. — He does not come in his
own name. The Lord is with him. If you refuse him, you will
refuse Christ ; for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

(2rf,) Welcome him into your houses. — He is coining, like his
Master, to seek that which was lost, and to bind up lhat which is
broken ; to strengthen that which was sick, and to bring again
that which was driven away. You have all need of him, whether
converted or not. Remember there is an awful curse against
those who receive not gospel messages. He will shake the dust
off his feet against you, and that dust will rise against you in judg-
ment.

(3d,) Do not trouble him about worldly matters. — His grand

70 SERMON XI.

concern is to get your soul saved. He is not a man of business,
but a man of prayer. He has given himself to prayer, and to the
ministry of the Word.

(4M,) Go freely to him about your souls. — " The minister's house
was more thronged than ever the tavern had wont to be.'' These
were happy days. There is no trade I would like to see broken
in this place but that of the taverners. It is a soul-destroying
trade. I would like to see the taverns emptied, and the minister's
house thronged. Do not hesitate to go to him. It is your duty
and your privilege. It is your duty — it will encourage him, and
show him how to preach to your souls. It is your privilege — 1
have known many get more light from a short conversation than
from many sermons.

(5th,) Be brief. — Tell your case. Hear his word and be gone.
Remember his body is weak, and his time precious. You are
stealing his time from others or from God. I cannot tell you what
a blessing it will be if you will be very short in your calls. The
talk of the lips tendeth to penury.

3. God's children pray for him. — Pray for his body, that he
may be kept strong, and spared for many years. Pray for his
soul, that he may be kept humble and holy, a burning and a shining
light, that he may grow. Pray for his ministry, that it may be
abundantly blessed, that he may be anointed to preach good tidings.
Let there be no secret prayer without naming him before your
God, no family prayer without carrying your pastor in your hearts
to God. Hold up his hands, so Israel will prevail against Amalrk.

4. Unconverted souls, prize this opportunity. — I look on this or-
dination as a smile of heaven upon you. God might hare taken
away ministers from this town instead of giving us more. I be-
lieve the Lord Jesus is saying, " I have much people in this city."
The door is begun to be opened this day. The Spirit is beginning
to shine. O that you would know the day of your visitation !
This is the market-day of grace beginning in this end of the town,
and you should all come to buy. O that you knew the day of your
visitation ! Some, I fear, will be the worse of this ministry, and not
the better. The election will be saved, and the rest be blinded.
Some will yet wish they had died before this ch'urch was opened. Be
sure, dear souls, that you will either be saved, or more lost, by this
ministry. Your pastor comes with the silver trumpet of mercy.
Why will ye turn it into the trumpet of judgment ? He comes
with glad tidings of great joy. Why should you turn them into
sad tidings of endless woe ? He comes to preach the acceptable
day of the Lord. Why will ye turn it into the day of vengeance
»f our God ?

\Qth Dee., 1S40.

SERMON XII. 71

SERMON XII

* There is no fear in love ; but perfect love casteth out fear ; because fear hath tor-
merit. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he
first loved us. If a man say, Move God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for
he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God
whom he hath not seen ? And this commandment have we from him, That h«»
who loveth God loves his brother also." — 1 John iv., 18-21.

Doctrine. — Perfect love casteth out fear.

I. The state of an awakened soul. — " Fear hath torment"
There are two kinds of fear mentioned in the Bible very oppo-
site from one another. The one is the very atmosphere of heaven,
the other is the very atmosphere of hell.

1. There is the fear of love. — This is the very temper of a little
child : the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This was
the mind of Job. " He feared God and hated evil." Nay, it is the
very spirit of the Lord Jesus. On him rested " the spirit of the
fear of the Lord, and made him of quick understanding in the fear
of the Lord."

2. There is the fear of terror. — This is the very temper of
devils ; " the devils believe and tremble." This is what was in
Adam and Eve after the fall ; they fled from the voice of God, and
tried to hide themselves in one of the trees of the garden. This
was the state of the Jailor when he trembled, and sprang in and
brought them out, and fell at their feet, saying, " Sirs, what must
I do to be saved ?" This is the fear here spoken of; tormenting
fear. " Fear hath torment." Some of you have felt this fear that
hath torment. Many more might feel it this day ; you arc within
reach of it. Let me explain its rise in the soul.

1st, A natural man casteth off fear, and restrains prayer before
God. " They have been at ease from their youth, and settled
down upon their lees, they have not been emptied from vessel to
vessel ; therefore, their taste remains in them, and their scent is
not changed." They are like fallow-ground, that has never been
broken up by the plough, but is overrun with briers and thorns.
Are there not some among you that never trembled for your
soul? You think you are as good as your neighbors. Ah! well,
your dream will be broken up one day soon.

2rf, When the Spirit of God opens the eyes, he makes the
stoutest sinner tremble. He shows him the number of his sins, or
rather that they cannot be numbered. Before, he had a memory
that easily forgot his sins ; o;i.ths slipped over his tongue and he
knew it not; every day added new sins to his page on God's
book, yet he remembered not. But now, the Spirit of God sets
all his sins straight before him. All unpardoned, long-forgotten
enormities, rise up behind him. Then he begins to tremble.
" Innumerable evils have compassed me about."

72 SERMON XII.

3d, The Spirit makes him feel the greatness of sin, the exceed-
ing sinfulness of it. Before, it seemed nothing ; but now, it rises
like a flood over the soul. The wrath of God he feels abiding on
htm ; a terrible sound is in his ears. He knows not what to do ;
his fear hath torment. Sin is seen now as done against a holy
God, done against a God of love, done against Jesus Christ and
his love.

4th, A third thing which awfully torments the soul is, corrup-
tion working in the heart. Often persons under conviction are
made to feel the awful workings of corruption in their heart.
Often temptation and conviction of sin meet together, and awfully
torment the soul, rending it in pieces. Conviction of sin is piercing
his heart, driving him to flee from the wrath to come, and yet at
the same moment some raging lust, or envy, or horrid malice, is
boiling in his heart, driving him towards hell. Then a man feels
a hell within him. In hell there will be this awful mixture ; there
will be an overwhelming dread of the wrath of God, and yet cor-
ruption boiling up within, will drive the soul more and more into
the flames. This is often felt on earth. Some of you may be
feeling it. This is the fear that hath torment.

5th, Another thing the Spirit convinces the soul of is, his in-
ability to help himself. When a man i-s first awakened, he says, I
shall soon get myself out of this sad condition. He falls upon
many contrivances to justify himself. He changes his life ; he
tries to repent, to pray. He is soon taught that " his righteous-
nesses are filthy rags ;" that he is trying to cover rags with filthy
rags ; he is brought to feel that all he can do signifies just nothing,
and that he never can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. This
sinks the soul in gloom. This fear hath torment.

6th, He fears he shall never be in Christ. Some of you perhaps
know that this fear hath torment. The free offer of Christ is the
very thing that pierces you to the heart. You hear that he is
altogether lovely, that he invites sinners to come to him, that he
never casts out those that do come. But you fear you will never
be one of these. You fear you have sinned too long or too much,
you have sinned away your day of grace. Ah ! this fear hath
torment.

Some will say, " It is not good to be awakened then."

Ans. 1. It is the way to peace that passeth understanding. It
is God's chosen method, to bring you to feel your need of Christ
before you come to Christ. A' present your peace is like a
drea»i : when you awake you will find it so. Ask awakened
souls if they would go back again to their slumber. Ah ! no ; if
I die, let me die at the foot of the cross ; let me not perish un-
awakened.

Ans. 2. You must be awakened one day. If not now, you will
afterwards, in hell. After death, fear will come on your secure
souls. There is not one unawakened soul in hell ; all are trem-

SERMON XII. 73

bling there. The devils tremble ; the damned spirits tremble.
Would it not be better to tiemble now, and flee to Jesus Christ
for refuge ? Now, he is waiting to be gracious to you. Then, he
will moc-.k when your fear cometh. You will know to all eternity
that " fear hath torment."

II. The change on believing. — " There is no fear in love."
" Perfect love casteth out fear."

1. The love here spoken of is not our love to God, but his love
to us ; for it is called perfect love. All that is ours is imperfect.
When we have done all, we must say, " We are unprofitable ser-
vants." Sin mingles with all we think and do. It were no comfoit
to tell us that, if we would love God perfectly, it would cast oui
fear ; for how can we work that love into our souls ? It is the
Father's love to us that casteth out fear. He is the Perfect One.
All his works are perfect. He can do nothing but what is perfect.
His knowledge is perfect knowledge : his wrath is perfect wrath ;
his love is perfect love. It is this perfect love which casteth out
fear. Just as the sunbeams cast out darkness wherever they fall,
so does this love cast out fear.

2. But where does this love fall ? — On Jesus Christ. Twice
God spake from heaven, and said, " This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased." God perfectly loves his own Son. He
sees infinite beauty in his person. God sees himself manifested.
He is infinitely pleased with his finished work. The infinite heart
of the infinite God flows out in love towards our Lord Jesus
Christ. And there is no fear in the bosom of Christ. All his fears
are past. Once he said, " While I suffer thy terrors I am dis-
tressed ;" but now he is in perfect love, and perfect love casteth
out fear. Hearken, trembling souls ! Here you may find rest to
your souls. You do not need to live another hour under your tor-
menting fears. Jesus Christ has borne the wrath of which you
are afraid. He now stands a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in
the time of trouble. Look to Christ, and your fear will be cast
out. Come to the feet of Christ, and you will find rest. Call
upon the name of the Lord, and you will be delivered. You say,
you cannot look, nor come, nor cry, for you are helpless. Hear,
then, and your soul shall live. Jesus is a Saviour to the helpless.
Christ is not only a Saviour to those who are naked, and empty
and have no goodness to recommend themselves, but he is a Sa-
viour to those who are unable to give themselves to him. You
cannot be in too desperate a condition for Christ. As long as you
remain unbelieving, you are under his perfect wrath ; wrath
without any mixture. The wrath of God will be as amazing as
his love. It corncs out of the same bosom. But the moment you
look to Christ, you will come under his perfect love — love with-
out any coldness, light without any shade, love without any cloud
or mountain between. God's love will cast out all your fears.

74 SERMON XII

HI. His love gives boldness in the Day of Judgment, verse
17. There is a great day coming, often spoken of in the Bible —
the Day of Judgment — the day when God shall judge the secrets
of men's hearts hy Christ Jesus. The Christless will not be able
to stand in that day. The ungodly shall not stand in the judg-
ment. At present, sinners have much boldness ; their neck is an
iron sinew, and their brow brass. Many of them cannot blush
•when they are caught in sin. Amongst ourselves, is it not amaz-
ing how bold sinners are in forsaking ordinances ? With what a
brazen face will some men swear ! How bold some ungodly men
are in coming to the Lord's Table ! But it will not be so in a little
while. When Christ shall appear — the holy Jesus, in all his glory,
then brazen-faced sinners will begin to blush. Those that never
prayed will begin to wail. Sinners, whose limbs carried them
stoutly to sin and to the Lord's Table last Sabbath, will find their
knees knocking against one another. Who shall abide the day of
his coming, and who shall stand when he appears ? When the
books are opened — the one the book of God's remembrance, the
other the Bible — then the dead will be judged out of those things
written in the books. Then the heart of the ungodly will die
within them ; then will begin " their shame and everlasting con-
tempt." Many wicked persons comfort themselves with this, that
their sin is not known, that no eye sees them ; but in that day the
most secret sins will be all brought out to the light. " Every idle
word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in
the Day of Judgment." How would you tremble and blush, O
wicked man, if I were now to go over before this congregation
the secret sins you have committed during the past week ; all
your secret fraud and cheating ; your secret uncleanness ; your
secret malice and envy ; how you would blush and be confounded !
How much more in that day, when the secrets of your whole life
shall be made manifest before an assembled world ! What eternal
confusion will sink down your soul in that day ! You will be
quite chop-fallen ; all your pride and blustering will be gone.
All in Christ will have boldness.

1. Because Christ shall be Judge. — What abundant peace will
it give you in that day, believer, when you see Christ is judge !
He that shed his blood for you. He that is your surety, your
shepherd, your all. It will take away all fear. You will be able
to say, who shall condemn, for Christ hath died. In the very hand
that opens the books, you will see ihe marks of the wounds made
by your sins. Christ will be the same to you in the judgment that
he is now.

2. Because the Father himself loveth you. Christ and the Fa-
ther are one. The Father sees no sin in you ; because as Christ
is, so are you in this world. You are judged by God according
to what the surety is ; so that God's love will be with you in that

SERMON XII. 75

day. You will feel the smile of the Father, and you will hear the
voice of Jesus saying, " Come, ye blessed of my Father."

Learn to fear nothing between this and judgment. Fear not,
wait on the Lord and be of good courage.

IV. The consequences of being in the love of God.

1. " We love him because he first loved us ;" v. 19. When a
poor sinner cleaves to Jesus, and finds the forgiving love of God,
he cannot but love God back again. When the prodigal returned
home and felt his Father's arms around his neck, then did he feel
the gushings of affection toward his father. When the summer
sun shines full .down upon the sea, it draws the vapors upward to
the sky. So when the sunbeams of the Son of Righteousness fall
upon the soul, they draw forth the constant risings of love to him
in return.

Some of you are longing to be able to love God. Come into
his love then. Consent to be loved by him, though worthless in
yourself. It is better to be loved by him than to love, and it is
the only way to learn to love him. When the light of the sun
falls upon the moon, it finds the moon dark and unlovely, but the
moon reflects the light, and casts it back again. So let the love
of God shine into your breast, and you will cast it back again.
The love of Christ constraineth us. " We love him because ho
first loved us." The only cure for a cold heart is to look at the
heart of Jesus.

Some of you have no love to God because you love an idol.
You may be sure you have never come into his love : that curse
rests upon you, " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let
him be Anathema maranatha."

2. We love our brother also. If you love an absent person you
will love their picture. What is that the sailor's wife keeps so
closely wrapped in a napkin, laid up in her best drawer among
sweet smelling flowers ? She takes it out morning and evening,
and gazes at it through her tears. It is the picture of her absent
husband. She loves it because it is like him. It has many imper-
fections, but still it is like. Believers are the pictures of God in
this world. The spirit of Christ dwells in them. They walk as
he walked. True, they are full of imperfections ; still they are
true copies. If you love him, you will love them. You will
make them your bosom friends.

Are there none of you that dislike real Christians ? You do not
like their look, their ways, their speech, their prayers. You call
them hypocrites, and keep away from them. Do you know the
reason ? You hate the copy, because you hate the original ; vou
hate Christ, and are none of his.

St. Peter's, 1840.

76 SERMON XIII.

SERMON XIII.

ACTION SERMON.— October 25, 1840.

" But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Chrift, bj
whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." — Gal. vi., 14.

Doctrine — Glorying in the Cross.

I. The subject here spoken of by Paul. The Cross of Christ.
— This word is used in three different senses in the Bible. It is
important to distinguish them.

1. It is used to signify the wooden cross ; the tree upon which
the Lord Jesus was cruciried. The punishment of the cross was
a Roman invention. It was made use of only in the case of
slaves, or very notorious malefactors. The cross was made of
two beams of wood crossing each other. It was laid on the
ground and the criminal stretched upon it. A nail was driven
through each hand, and one nail through both the feet. It was
then lifted upright, and let fall into a hole, where it was wedged
in. The crucified man was then left to die, hanging by his hands
and feet. This was the death to which Jesus stooped. " He
endured the cross, despising the shame." " He became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross." Matt, xxvii., 40, 42 ;
Mark xv., 30, 32; Luke xxiii., 26; John xix., 17, 19, 25, 31;
Eph. ii., 16.

2. It is used to signify the way of salvation by Jesus Christ
crucified. So 1 Cor. i., 18, " The preaching of the Cross is to
them that perish foolishness, but unto us who are saved it is the
power of God ;" compared with verse 23, " We preach Christ
crucified," &c. Here it is plain the preaching of the Cross and
the preaching of Christ crucified are the same thing. This is the
meaning in the* passage before us, " God forbid that I should
glory, &c." It is the name given to the whole plan of salvation
by a crucified Redeemer. That little word implies the whole
glorious work of Christ for us. It implies the love of God in giv-
ing his Son (John iii., 16) ; the love of Christ in giving himself
(Eph. v., 2) ; the incarnation of the Son of God ; his substitution,
one for many ; his atoning sufferings and death. The whole work
of Christ is included in that little word, the Cross of Christ. And
the reason is plain ; his dying on the cross was the lowest point
of his humiliation. It was there he cried, It is finished ; the work
of my obedience is finished ! my sufferings are finished ; the work
of redemption is complete ; the wrath of my people is finished ;
and he bowed the head and gave up the ghost. Hence his whole
finished work is called the Cross of Christ.

3. It is used to signify the sufferings borne in following Christ.

SERMON XIII. 77

" If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me," Matt, xvi., 24. When a man deter-
mines to follow Christ, he must give up his sinful pleasures, his
sinful companions ; he meets with scorn, ridicule, contempt,
hatred ; the persecution of early friends ; his name is cast out as
evil. " He that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer perse-
cution." Now, to meet all these is " to take up the cross." " He
that taketh not up his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy
of me."

In the passage before us the words are used in the second
meaning ; the plan of salvation by a crucified Saviour.

Dear friends, it is this that is set before you in the broken
bread and poured out wine ; the whole work of Christ for the sal-
vation of sinners. The love and grace of the Lord Jesus are all
gathered into a focus there. The love of the Father ; the cove-
nant with the Son ; the love of Jesus ; his incarnation, obedience,
death ; all are set before you in that broken bread and wine. It
is a sweet, silent sermon. Many a sermon contains not Christ
from beginning to end. Many show him doubtfully and imper-
fectly. But here is nothing else but Christ and him crucified.
Most rich and speaking ordinance ! Pray that the very sight of
that broken bread may break your hearts, and make them flow to
the Lamb of God. Pray for conversions from the sight of the
broken bread and poured out wine. Look attentively, dear souls
and little children, when the bread is broken and the wine poured
out. It is a heart-affecting sight. May the Holy Spirit bless it.
Dear believers, look you attentively, to get deeper, fuller views of
the way of pardon and holiness. A look from the eye of Christ to
Peter broke and melted his proud heart ; he went out and wept
bitterly. Pray that a single look of that broken bread may do the
same for you. When the Roman centurion, that watched beside
the cross of Jesus, saw him die, arid the rocks rend, he cried out,
Truly this was the Son of God ! Look at this broken bread, and
you will see the same thing, and may your heart *>e made to cry
after the Lord Jesus. When the dying thief IOOKC I on the pale
face of Irnmanuel, and saw the holy majesty that beamed from his
dying eye, he cried, Lord, remember me ! This broken bread
reveals the same thing. May the same grace be given you, and
may you breathe the cry, Lord remember me !

O get ripening views of Christ, dear believers. The corn in
harvest sometimes ripens more in one day than in weeks before.
So some Christians gain more grace in one day than for months
before. Pray that this may be a ripening harvest day in your
souls.

II. Pants feelings towards the Cross of Christ : " God forbid"
$c.

1. It is implied that he had utterly forsaken the way of right-

78 SERMON XIII.

cousness by deeds of the law. Every natural man seeks salvation
by making himself better in the sight of God. He tries to mend
his life ; he puts a bridle on his tongue ; he tries to command his
feelings and thoughts, all to make himself better in the sight of
God. Or he goes further ; tries to cover h's past sins by religious
observances ; he becomes a religious man ; prays, weeps, reads,
attends sacraments, is deeply occupied in religion, and tries to get
it into his heart, all to make himself appear good in the eye of
God, that he may lay God under debt to pardon and love him.
Paul tried this plan for long. He was a Pharisee, touching the
righteousness in the law blameless ; he lived an outwardly blame-
less life, and was highly thought of as a most religious man.
" But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss Tor Christ."
When it pleased God to open his eyes, he gave up this way of
self- righteousness for ever and ever; he had no more any peace
from looking in : " we have no confidence in the flesh ;" he bade
farewell for ever to that way of seeking peace. Nay, he trampled
it under his feet. " I do count them but dung that I may win
Christ. Oh ! it is a glorious thing when a man is brought to tram-
ple under feet his own righteousness ; it is the hardest thing in
the world.

2. He betook himself to the Lord Jesus Christ. — Paul got
such a view of the glory, brightness, and excellency of the way
of salvation by Jesus, that it filled his whole heart. All other
things sunk into littleness. Every mountain and hill was brought
low, the crooked was made straight, the rough places smooth, and
the glory of the Lord was revealed. As the rising sun makes all
the stars disappear, so the rising of Christ upon his soul made
everything else disappear. Jesus suffering for us filled his eye ;
filled his heart. He saw, believed, and was happy. Christ for us,
answered all his need. From the Cross of Christ a ray of heavenly
light flamed to his soul, filling him with light and joy unspeakable.
He felt that God was glorified, and he was saved ; he cleaved to
the Lord with full purpose of heart. Like Edwards, " I was un-
speakably pleased."

3. He gloried in the Cross. — He confessed Christ before men ;
he was not ashamed of Christ before that adulterous generation ;
he gloried that this was his way of pardon, peace, and holiness
Ah ! what a change ! once he blasphemed the name of Jesus, and
persecuted to the death those that called on his name ; now it is
all his boast, " Straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues,
that h^ is the Son of God." Once he gloried in his blameless
life when he was among Pharisees ; now he glories in this, that
he is the chief of sinners, but that Christ died for such as he. Once
he gloried in his learning, when he sat at the feet of Gamaliel;
DOW he glories in being reckoned a fool for Christ's sake, in being
a little child led by the hand of Jesus. At the Lord's table, among
his friends, in heathen cities, at Athens, at Rome, among the wise

SERMON XIII. 79

or unwise, before kings and princes, he glories in it as the only
thing worthy of being known ; the way of salvation by Jesua
Christ and him crucified.

Dear friends, have you been brought to glory only in the Cross
of Christ?

1. Have you given over the old way of salvation by the deeds
of the law ? Your natural heart is set upon that way. You are
always for making yourself better and better till you can lay God
under obligation to pardon you. You are always for looking in
for righteousness. You are looking in at your convictions, and
sorrow for past sins, your tears and anxious prayers ; or you are
looking in at your amendment, forsaking of wicked courses, and
struggles after a new life ; or you are looking at your own religious
exercises, your fervency, and enlarged heart in prayer or in the
house of God ; or you are looking at the work of the Holy Spirit
in you, the graces of the spirit. Alas ! alas ! The bed is shorter than
that you can stretch yourself on it, the covering is narrower than
that you can wrap yourself in it. Despair of pardon in that way.
Give it up for ever. Your heart is desperately wicked. Every
righteousness in which your heart has anything to do is vile and
polluted, and cannot appear in his sight. Count it all loss, filthy
r;igs, dung, that you may win Christ.

2. Betake yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe the love
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He delighteth in mercy ; he is ready
to forgive ; in him compassions flow ; he justifies the ungodly.
Have you seen the glory of the cross of Jesus? Has it attracted
your heart ? Do you feel unspeakably pleased with that way of
salvation ? Do you see that God is glorified when you are saved ?
that God is a God of majesty, truth, unsullied holiness, and inflexi-
ble justice, and yet you are justified ? Does the cross of Christ fill
your heart ? Does it make a great calm in your soul, a heavenly
rest ? Do you love that word, " the righteousness of God;" •' the
righteousness which is by faith," the righteousness without works ?
Do you sit within sight of the cross ? Does your soul rest there ?

3. Glory only in the Cross of Christ. Observe, there cannot be
a secret Christian. Grace is like ointment hid in the hand, it be-
wrayeth itself. A lively Christian cannot keep silence. It you
truly feel the sweetness of the Cross of Christ, you will be con-
strained to confess Christ before men. " It is like the boet wine,
that goeth down sweetly, causing lips to speak." Do you confess
him in your family ? Do you make it known there that you are
Christ's ? Remember, you must be decided in your own house.
It is the mark of a hypocrite to be a Christian everywhere except
at home. Among your companions, do you own him a friend
whom you have found ? In the shop and in the market, arc you
willing to be known as a man washed in the blood of the lamb ?
Do you long that all your dealings be under the sweet rules of the
gospel ? Come then to the Lord's Table and confess him that hat

80 SERMON XIII.

saved your soul. Oh ! grant that it may be a true, free, and full
confession. This is my sweet food, my lamb, my righteousness,
my Lord and my God, my all in all. " God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross." Once you gloried in riches, friends,
lame, sin ; now in a crucified Jesus.

III. The effects. — " The world is crucified to me, and I unto the
•world." " If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature," &c.
When the blind beggar of Jericho got his eyes opened by the
Lord, this world was all changed to him, and he to the world. So
it was with Paul ; no sooner did he rise from his knees, with the
peace of Jesus in his heart, than the world got its death-blow in
his eyes. As he hurried over the smooth stones of the streets of
Damascus, or looked down from the flat roof of his house upon the
lovely gardens on the banks of the Abana, the world and all its
dazzling show seemed to his eye a poor, shrivelled, crucified thing.
Once it was his all. Once its soft and slippery flatteries were
pleasant as music to his ear. Riches, beauty, pleasure, all that
the natural eye admires, his heart was once set upon ; but the
moment he believed on Jesus all these began to die. True, they
were not dead, but they were nailed to a cross. They no more
had that living attraction for them they once had ; and now every
day they began to lose their power. As a dying man on the cross
grows weaker every moment, while his heart's blood trickles from
the deep gashes in his hands and feet, so the world, that was once
his all, began to lose every moment its attractive power. He
tasted so much sweetness in Christ, in pardon, access to God, the
smile of God, the indwelling spirit, that the world became every
day a more tasteless world to him.

Another effect was, " / to the world." — As Paul laid his hand
upon his own bosom he felt that it also was changed. Once it
was as a mettled race-horse that paces the ground and cannot be
bridled in ; once it was like the fox-hounds on the scent impatient
of the leash ; his heart thus rushed after fame, honor, worldly
praise ; but now it was nailed to the cross, a broken, contrite
heart. True, it was not dead. Many a fitful start his old nature
gave that drove him to his knees and made him cry for grace to
help ; bijt still, the more he looked to the cross of Jesus, the more
his old heart began to die. Every, day he felt less desire for sin ;
more desire for Christ, and God, and perfect holiness.

Some may discover that they have never come to Christ. Has
the world been crucified to you ? Once it was your all; its praise, its
riches, its songs, and merry-makings ? Has it been nailed to the
cross in your sight ? Oh ! put your hand on your heart. Has it lost
its burning desire after earthly things ? They that are Christ's have
crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts. Do you feel that
Jesus has put the nails through your lusts ? Do you wish they
were dead ? What answer can you make, sons and daughters of

SERMON XIV. 8]

pleasure, to whom the dance, and song, and the glass, and witty
repartee, are the sum of happiness ? Ye are none of Christ's.
What answer can you make, lovers of money, sordid money-
makers, who had rather have a few more sovereigns than the
grace of God in your heart ? What answer can you make, flesh-
pleasers, night-walkers, lovers of darkness ? Ye are not Christ's.
Ye have not come to Christ. The world is all alive to you, and
you are living to the world. You cannot glory in the cross, and
love the world. Ah ! poor deluded souls, you have never seen
the glory of the way of pardon by Jesus. Go on ; love the world ;
grasp every pleasure ; gather heaps of money ; feed and farten on
your lusts ; take your fill. What will it profit you when you lose
your own soul ?

Some are saying, O that the world was crucified to me and I
to the world ! O that my heart were as dead as a stone to the world,
and alive 1o Jesus ! Do you truly wish it? Look, then, to the
cross. Behold the amazing gift of love. Salvation is promised to
a look. Sit down like Mary, and 'gaze upon a crucified Jesus.
So will the world become a dim and dying thing. When you
gaze upon the sun, it makes everything else dark ; when you
taste honey, it makes everything else tasteless ; so when your
soul feeds on Jesus, it takes away the sweetness of all earthly
things ; praise, pleasure, fleshly lusts, all lose their sweetness.
Keep a continued gaze. Run, looking unto Jesus. Look, till the
way of salvation by Jesus fills up the whole horizon, so glorious and
peace-speaking. So will the world be crucified to you, and you
unto the world.

SERMON XIV.

" Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God ?
shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old ? Will
the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of
oil ? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for
the sin of my soul ? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good ; and what doth
the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with thy God .'"— Micah vi , 6 8

Doctrine. — The good way of coming before the Lord.

The question of an awakened soul. — " Wherewith shall I come
before the Lord ?" An unawakened man never puts that question.
A natural man has no desire to come before God, or to bow him-
self before the high God. He does not like to think of God. He
would rather think of any other subject. He easily forgets what
he is told about God. A natural man has no memqry for divine

6

82 SERMON XIV.

things, because he has no heart for them. He has no desire to
come before God in prayer. There is nothing a natural man
hates more than prayer. He would far rather spend half an hour
cvciy morning in bodily exercise or in hard labor, than in the
presence of God. He has no desire to come before God when he
dies. lie knows that he must appear before God, but it gives him
no joy. He had rather sink into nothing ; he had rather never see
the face of God. Ah! my friends, is this your condition? How
surely you may know that you have " the carnal mind which is
enmity against God." You are l.ke Pharaoh ; " Who is the Lord
that 1 should obey him ?" You say to God, " Depart from me, for
I desire not the knowledge of thy ways." What an awful state it
is to be in to have no desire after him who is the fountain of living
waters !

I. Here is the piercing question of every awakened soul.

1. An awakened soul feels that his chief happiness is in coming
before God. This was unfaUen Adam's happiness. He felt like
a child under a loving father's eye. It was his chief joy to come
before God, to be loved by him, to be like a mote in the sunbeam,
to be continually basked in the sunshine of his love, no cloud "or
veil coming between. This is the joy of holy angels, to come
before the Lord, and bow before the high God. In his presence
is fulness of joy. "The angels do always behold the face of my
Father." On whatever errand of love they fly, they still feel that
his eye of love is on them ; this is their daily, hourly joy. This is
the true happiness of a believer. Hear David (Psalm xlii.), "As
the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God : my soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : when
shall I come and appear before God ?" He panted not after the
gifts of God, not his favors or comforts, but after himself. A
believer longs after God, to come into his presence, to feel his
love, to feel near to him in secret, to feel in the crowd that
he is nearer than all the creatures. Ah ! dear brethren, have
you ever tasted this blessedness ? There is greater rest and
solace to be found in the presence of God for one hour than
in an eternity of the presence of man. To be in his presence,
under his love, under his eye, is heaven wherever it be. God
can make you happy in any circumstances. Without him no-
thing can.

2. An awakened soul feels difficulties in the way. — " Where-
with," &c. There are two great difficulties.

1st, The nature of the sinner. — " Wherewith shall I," &c.
When God really awakens a soul, he shows the vileness and
hatefulness of himself. He directs the eye within. He shows
him that every imagination of his heart has been only evil con-
tinually : that every member of his body he has used in the
•ervice of sin ; that he has treated Christ in a shameful man-

SERMON XIV. 83

ner ; that he has sinned both against law and love ; thht he
has kept the door of his heart harred against the Lord Jesus, till
his head was filled with dew, and his locks with the drops of
the night. O brethren, if God has ever discovered yourself to you,
you would wonder that such a lump of hell and sin should have
been permitted to breathe so long ; that God should have had
patience with you till this day. Your cry will be, " Wherewith
shall I come before the Lord ?" Though all the world should
come before him, how can I ?

2d, The nature of God.—" The high God." When God really
awakens a soul, he generally reveals to him something of his own
holiness and majesty. Thus he dealt with Isaiah (vi.), " I saw
the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim ; one cried to
another, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is
filled with his glory. Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone."
When Isaiah saw that God was so great a God, and so holy,
he felt himself undone. He felt that he could not stand in the pre-
sence of so great a God. O brethren ! have you ever had a disco-
very of the highness and holiness of God, so as to lay you low at
his feet ? O pray for such a discovery of God as Job had, " I
have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine
eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust
and ashes." Alas ! I fear that most of you will never know
that God with whom you have to do, till you stand guilty and
speechless before his great white throne. O that you would
pray for a discovery of him now, that you may cry, " Where-
with shall 1 come before the Lord, and bow myself before the
high God !"

3d, The anxiety of the awakened soul leads to the question,
" Wherewith ?" Ah ! it is a piercing question. It is the ques-
tion of one who has been made to feel that " one thing is
needful." Anything he has he would give up to get peace with
Goa. If he had a thousand rams, or ten thousand rivers of
oil, he would gladly give them. If the life of his children, the
dearest objects on this earth, would attain it, he would give
them up. If he had a thousand worlds, he would give all
for an interest in Christ. Woe to you that are at ease in
Zion. Woe to those of you that never asked this question,
Wherewith shall I come before the Lord ? Ah ! foolish triflers
with eternal things ! Poor butterflies, that flutter on from flower
to flower, and consider not the dark eternity that is before you !
Prepare to meet thy God. O Israel ! Ye are hastening on to
death and judgment, yet never ask. What garment shall cover
me when I stand before the great white throne? If you were
going to appear before an earthly monarch, you would ask before-
hand, Wherewith shall I be attired ? If you were to be tried at
an earthly bar, you would make sure of an advocate. How is it

84 SERMON XIV.

you press on so swiftly to the bar of God, and never ask the
question, Wherewith shall I appear? " If the righteous scarcely
are saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ?"

II. The answer of peace to the awakened soul. — " He hath
showed thce, O man, what is good." Nothing that man can bring
with him will justify him before God. The natural heart is
a-lways striving to bring something to be a robe of righteous-
ness before God. There is nothing a man would not do, no-
thing he would not suffer, if he might only cover himself before
God. Tears, prayers, duties, reformations, devotions — the heart
will do anything to be righteous before God. But all this right-
eousness is filthy rags. For,

1. The heart remains an awful depth of corruption. Every-
thing in which that heart has any share is polluted and vile.
These very tears and prayers would need to be washed.

2. Supposing this righteousness perfect, it cannot cover the
past. It answers only for the time in which it was done. Old
sins, and the sins of youth, still remain uncovered.

Oh ! dear brethren, if Jesus is to justify you, he must do as he
did to Joshua (Zech.t iii., 4), " Take away the filthy garments
from him ;" and, " I will clothe thee with change of raiment.'*
The hand of Jesus alone can take off your filthy garments.
The hand of Jesus alone can clothe you with change of raiment.

Christ is the good way. — " He hath showed thee," &c. " Stand
ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths where is the
good way, and walk therein, and ye shalf find rest for your souls."
Christ is the good way to the Father. 1. Because he is so suit-
able. He just answers the case of the sinner ; for every sin of
the sinner he has a wound, for every nakedness he has a cover-
ing, for every emptiness he has a supply. There is no fear but
he will receive the sinner, for he came into the world on purpose
to save sinners. There is no far but the Father will be well
pleased with us in him, for the Father sent him, laid our iniquity
upon him, raised him from the dead, and points you to him. " He
hath showed thee, O man, what is good." 2. He is so free. —
" As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." As far as
the curse by Adam extends, so far does the offer of pardon by
Jesus extend. Here is good news to the vilest of men. You may be
covered just as completely and as freely as those that have never
sinned as you have done. " He hath snowed thee, O man, what
is good." 3. He is so God-glorifying. — All other ways of salva-
tion are man-glorifying, but this way is God-glorifying ; therefore,
it is good. That way is good and best which gives the glory to
the Lamb. The way of righteousness by Jesus is good, on this
account, that Jesus gets all the praise. To him be glory. It is
of faith that it might be by grace. If a man could justify him-

SERMON XIV. 85

self, or if he could believe of himself and draw the righteousness
of Christ over his soul, that man would glory. But when a man
lies dead at the foot of Jesus, and Jesus spreads his white robe
orer him, out of free sovereign mercy, then Jesus gets all the
praise.

Have you chosen the good way of being justified ? This is
the way which God has been showing from the foundation of the
world. He showed it in Abel's lamb, and in all the sacrifices, and
by all the prophets. He shows it by his spirit to the heart. Has
this good way been revealed to you? If it has, you will count
all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of it.
Oh, sweet, divine way of justifying a sinner ! Oh, that all the
world but knew it ! Oh, that we saw more of it ! Oh, that you
could make use of it ! " Walk therein and ye shall find rest unto
your souls."

III. God's requirement of the justified. — When Jesus healed the
impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, he said to him, " Behold
thou art made whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing happen
unto thee." And again, when he covered the sin of the adul-
teress, John viii., he said, " Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin
no more." So here, when he shows the good way of righteous-
ness, he adds, " And what doth the Lord require of thee ?"

1. God requires his redeemed ones to be holy. — If you are his
brethren, he will have you righteous, holy men.

1st, He requires that you do justly, to be just in your dealings
between man and man. This is one of his own glorious features.
He is a just God. " Shall not the judge of all the earth do right ?"
" He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." Are
you come to him by Jesus? he requires you to reflect his image.
Are you his child ? you must be like him. O brethren, be exact
in your dealings. Be like your God. Take care of dishonesty ;
take care of trickery in business. Take care of crying up your
goods when selling them, and crying them down when buying them.
" It is naught, it is naught, sayeth the buyer, but when he is gone
his way he boasteth." It shall not be so among you. God re-
quires you to do justly.

2</, He requires you to love mercy. This is the brightest fea-
ture in the character of Christ. If you are in Christ, drink deep
of his spirit ; God requires you to be merciful. The world is seli-
ish, unmerciful. An unconverted mother has no mercy on the
soul of her own child. She can see it dropping into hell without
mercy. O the hellish cruelty of unconverted men. It shall not
be so with you. Be merciful, as your father in heaven is merciful.

3d, He requires you to walk humbly with thy God. Christ
gays, " Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart." If God
has covered all your black sins, rebellions, backslidings, out-
breakings, then never open your mouth except in humble praise.

86 SERMON XV.

God requires this at your hand. Walk with God, and walk burn,
bly.

2. Remember tins is God's end in justifying you. — He loved tho
Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse
it. This was his great end, to raise up a peculiar people to serve
him, and bear his likeness, in this world and in eternity. For this
he left heaven ; for this he groaned, bled, died, to make you holy.
If you are not made holy, Christ died in vain for you.

3. Whatever he requires, he gives grace to perform. — Christ is
not only good as our way to the Father, but he is our fountain of
living waters. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
There is enough in Christ to supply the need of all his people.
An old minister says, a child can carry little water from the sea
in its two hands, and so it is little we get out of Christ. There
are unsearchable riches in him.

Be strong m the grace that is in him. Live out of yourself,
and live upon him. Go and tell him, that since he requires all
this of thee, he must give thee grace according to your need.
My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. He hath showed you one that is good, even the
fair Immanuel ; now lean upon him, get life from him that shall
never die, get living water from him that shall never dry up. Let
his hand hold you up amid the billows of this tempestuous sea;
let his shoulder carry you over the thorns of this wilderness. Look
as much to him for sanctification as for justification.

So will your walk be close with God,

Calm and serene your frame ;
So purer light shall mark the road

That leads you to the Lamb.

SERMON XV.

" For I delight in the law of God after the inward man ;'but I see another law in
my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am ! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death ? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the
fiesh the law of sin." — Rom. vii., 22-25.

A BELIEVER is to be known, not only by his peace and joy, but
by his warfare and distress. His peace is peculiar : it flows
from Christ ; it is heavenly, it is holy peace. His warfare is as
peculiar ; it is deep-seated, agonizing, and ceases not till det^h.
If the Lord will, many of us have the prospect of sitting down
next Sabbath at the Lord's Table. The great question to be an-
swered before sitting down there is, Have I "fled to Christ or no ?

SERMON XV. §1

'Tis a point I long to know,

Oft it causes anxious thought,
Do I love the Lord or no ?

Am I his, or am I not ?

To help you to settle this question, I have chosen the subject of
the Christian's warfare, that you may know thereby whether you
are a soldier of Christ — whether you are really fighting the good
Eght of faith.

I. A believer delights in the law of God. — Verse 22, "I delight
in the law of God after the inward man." '

1. Before a man comes to Christ, he hates the law of God, his
whole soul rises up against it ; viii. 7, " The carnal mind is enmi-
ty," &c. (1.) Unconverted men hate the law of God on account
of its purity : " Thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant
loveth it." For the same reason worldly men hate it. The law is
the breathing of God's pure and holy mind. It is infinitely op-
posed to all impurity and sin. Every line of the law is against
sin. But natural men love sin, and therefore they hate the law,
because it opposes them in all they love. As bats hate the light,
and fly against it, so unconverted men hate the pure light of God's
law, and fly against it. (2.) They hate it for its breadth. " Thy
commandment is exceeding broad." It extends to all their out-
ward actions, seen and unseen ; it extends to every idle word that
men shall speak ; it extends to the looks of their eye ; it dives
into the deepest caves of their heart ; it condemns the most secret
springs of sin and lust that nestle there. Unconverted men quar-
rel with the law of God because of its strictness. If it extended
only to my outward actions, then I could bear with it ; but it con-
demns my most secret thoughts and desires, which I cannot pre-
vent. Therefore ungodly men rise against the law. (3.) They
hate it for its unchangeableness. Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but one jot or one tittle of the law shall in nowise pass
away. If the law would change, or let down its requirements, or
die, then ungodly men would be well pleased. But it is unchange-
able as God : it is written on the heart of God, with whom is no
variableness nor shadow of turning. It cannot change unless God
change ; it cannot die unless God die. Even in an eternal hell its
demands and its curses will be the same. It is an unchangeable
law, for He is an unchangeable God. Therefore ungodly men
have unchangeable hatred to that holy law.

2. When a man comes to Christ, this is all changed. He can
say, " 1 delight in the law of God after the inward man." Ho
can say with David, "O how I love thy law : it is my meditation
all the day." He can say with Jesus, in the 40th. Psalrn, " I
delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within mv
heart."

There are two reasons for this : —

88 SERMON XV

1st, The law is no longer an enemy. — If any of you who are
trembling under a sense of your infinite sins, and the curses of the
law which you have broken, flee to Christ, you will find rest. You
will find that he lias fully answered the demands of the law as a
surety for sinners — that he has fully borne all its curses. Yon
will be able to say, " Christ hath redeemed me from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for me, as it is written, * Cursed,' " &c.
You have no more to fear, then, from that awfully holy law : you
are not under the law, but under grace. You have no more to
fear from the law than you will have after the Judgment Day.
Imagine a saved soul after the Judgment Day. When that awful
scene is past ; when the dead, small and great, have stood before
that great white throne ; when the sentence of eternal woe has
fallen upon all the unconverted, and they have sunk into the lake
whose fires can never be quenched ; would not that redeemed
soul say, I have nothing to fear from that holy law ; I have seen
its vials poured out, but not a drop has fallen on me? So may
you say now, O believer in Jesus. When you look upon the soul
of Christ, scarred with God's thunderbolts ; when you look upon
his body, pierced for sin, you can say, He was made a curse for
me ; why should I fear that holy law ?

2d, The Spirit of God writes the law on the heart. — This is the
promise ( Jef. xxxi., 33), " After those days, saith the Lord, I will
put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and
will be their God, and they shall be my people." Coming to Christ
takes away your fear of the law, but it is the Holy Spirit coming
into your heart that makes you love the law. The Holy Spirit is
no more frightened away from that heart ; he comes and softens
it ; he takes out the stony heart and puts in a heart of flesh ; and
there he writes the holy, holy, holy law of God. Then the law
of God is sweet to that soul ; he has an inward delight in it. " The
law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
Now he unfeignedly desires every thought, word and action, to be
according to that law. "Othat my ways were directed to keep
thy statutes : great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing
shall ofiend them." The 119th Psalm becomes the breathing of
that new heart. Now also he would fain see all the world sub-
mitting to that pure and holy law. " Rivers of waters run down
mine eyes because they keep not thy law." O that all the world
but knew that holiness and happiness are one ! O that all the
world were one holy family, joyfully coming under the pure rules
of the Gospel! Try yourselves by this. Can you say, "I de-
light," &c. ? Do you remember when you hated the law of God ?
Do you love it now? Do you long for the time when you shall
live fully under it — holy as God is holy, pure as Christ is pure?

O corne, sinners, and give up your hearts to Christ, that he may
write on it his holy law ! You have long enough had the devil's
law graven on your hearts : come you to Jesus, and he will both

SERMON XV. §9

shelter you from the curses of the law, and he will give you the
Spirit to write all that law in your heart ; he will make you love
it with your inmost soul. Plead the promise with him. * Surely
you have tried the pleasures of sin long enough. Come now, and
try the pleasures of holiness out of a new heart.

If you die with your heart as it is, it will be stamped a wicked
heart to all eternity. " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still ;
and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still," Rev. xxii., 11. O come
and get the new heart before you die ; for except you be born
again you cannot see the kingdom of God !

II. A true believer feels an opposing law in his members. —
Verse 23, " I see another law," &c. When a sinner comes first
to Christ, he often thinks he will now bid an eternal farewell to
sin : now I shall never sin any more. He feels already at the gate
of heaven. A little breath of temptation soon discovers his heart,
and he cries out, " / see another law."

1. Observe what he calls it, " another law ;" quite a different
law from the law of God, a law clean contrary to it. Verse 25,
he calls it a " law of sin" — a law that commands him to commit sin
—that urges him on by rewards and threatenings : viii., 2, " A law

of sin and death" — a law which not only leads to sin, but leads to
death, eternal death : "the wages of sin is death." It is the same
law which in Galatians is called " thejlesh" Gal. v., 17, " The
flesh lusteth against the spirit," &c. It is the same which, in
Eph. iv., 22, is called " the old man" which is wrought according
to the deceitful lusts. The same law which, in Col. iii., is called
" your members" — " mortify, therefore, your members, which are,"
&c. The same which is called (v. 24) " a body of death." The
truth then is, that in the heart of the believer there remains the
whole members and body of an old man, or old nature : there
remains the fountain of every sin that has ever polluted the
world.

2. Observe again what his law is doing — " warring." This
law in the members is not resting quiet, but warring — always
fighting. There never can be peace in the bosom of a believer.
There is peace with God, but constant war with sin. This law
in the members has got an army of lusts under him, and he wages
constant war against the law of God. Sometimes, indeed, an
arrny are lying in ambush, and they lie quiet till a favorable mo-
ment comes. So in the heart the lusts often lie quiet till the hour
of temptation, and they war against the soul. The heart is like
a volcano ; sometimes it slumbers, and sends up nothing but a
little smoke ; but the fire is slumbering all the while below, and
will soon break out again. There are two great combatants in the
believer's soul. There is Satan on the one side, with the flesh and
all its lusts at his command ; then, on the other side, there is the
Holy Spirit, with the new creature all at his command. And so

90 SERMON XV.

" the flesh lustcth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh ;
and these two are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot
do the things that ye would."

Is Satan ever successful ? In the deep wisdom of God the law
in the members does sometimes bring the soul into captivity.
Noah was a perfect man, and Noah walked with God, and yet he
was led captive. " Noah drank of the wine, and was drunken."
Abraham was " the friend of God," and yet he told a lie, saying
of Sarah his wife, " She is my sister." Job was a perfect man,
one that feared God and hated evil, and yet he was provoked to
curse the day wherein he was born. And so with Moses, and
David, and Solomon, and Hezekiah, and Peter and the Apostles.

1. Have you experienced this warfare ? It is a clear mark of
God's children. Most of you, I fear, have never felt it. Do not
mistake me. All of you have felt a warfare at times between
your natural conscience and the law of God. But that is not the
contest in the believer's bosom. It is a warfare between the Spirit
of God in the heart, and the old man with his deeds.

2. If any of you are groaning under this warfare, learn to be
humbled by it, but not discouraged.

1st, Be humbled under it. — It is intended to make you lie in the
dust, and feel that you are but a worm. Oh ! what a vile wretch
you must be, that even after you are forgiven, and have received
the Holy Spirit, your heart should still be a fountain of every
wickedness ! How vile, that in your most solemn approaches to
God — in the house of God — in awfully affecting situations, such as
kneeling beside the death bed, you should still have in your
bosom all the members of your old nature. Let this make you
lie low.

2d, Let this teach you your need of Jesus. — You need the blood
of Jesus as much as at the first. You never can stand before God
in yourself. You must go again and again to be washed ; even
on your dying bed you must hide under Jehovah, our righteous-
ness. You must also lean upon Jesus. He alone can overcome
in you. Keep nearer and nearer every day.

3d, Be not discouraged. — Jesus is willing to be a Saviour to
such as you He is able to save you to the uttermost. Do you
think your case is too bad for Christ to save ? Every one whom
Christ saves had just such a heart as you. Fight the good fight
of faith ; lay hold on eternal life. Take up the resolution of
Edwards, " Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my
fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be"
" Him that overcometh will I make a pillar," &c.

III. The feelings of a believer during this warfare.

1. He feels wretched. — Verse 24th, "O wretched man that I
am '" There is nobody in this world so happy as a believer. He
has come to Jesus, and found rest. He has the pardon of all his

SERMON XT. 91

sins in Christ. He has near approach to God as a child. He hag
the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. He has the hope of glory. In
the most awful times he can be calm, for he feels that God is with
him. Still there are times when he cries, O wretched man !
When he feels the plague of his own heart, when he feels the
thorn in the flesh, when his wicked heart is discovered in all its
fearful malignity, A h, then he lies down, crying, O wretched man
that I am ! One reason of this wretchedness is, that sin discover-
ed in the heart takes away the sense of forgiveness. Guilt comes
upon the conscience, and a dark cloud covers the soul. How can
I ever go back to Christ ? he cries. Alas ! I have sinned away
my Saviour. Another reason is, the loathsomeness of sin. It is
felt like a viper in the heart. A natural man is often miserable
from his sin, but he never feels its loathsomeness ; but to the new
creature it is vile indeed. Ah ! brethren, do you know anything
of a believer's wretchedness ? If you do not, you will never
know his joy. If you know not a believers tears and groans, you
will never know his song of victory.

2. He seeks deliverance. — " Who shall deliver me ?" In ancient
times, some of the tyrants used to chain their prisoners to a dead
body ; so that, wherever the prisoner wandered, he had to drag a
putrid carcass after him. It is believed that Paul here alludes to
this inhuman practice. His old man he felt a noisome, putrid
carcass, which he was continually dragging about with him. His
piercing desire is to be freed from it. Who shall deliver us ?
You remember once, when God allowed a thorn in the flesh to
torment his servant — a messenger of Satan to buffet him — Paul
was driven to his knees. " I besought the Lord thrice; that it
might depart from me." O this is the true mark of God's children !
Th<i world have an old nature ; they are all old men together.
But it does not drive them to their knees. How is it with you,
dear souls ? Does corruption felt within drive you to the throne
of grace ? Does it make you call on the name of the Lord ?
Does it make you like the importunate widow, " Avenge me of
mine adversary 1 Does it make you like the man coming at mid-
night for three loaves ? Does it make you like the Canaanitish
woman, crying after Jesus ? Ah, remember, if lust can work in
your heart, and you lie down contented with it, you are none of
Chnst's !

3. He gives thanks for victory. — Truly we are more than con-
querors through him that loved us ; for we can give thanks before
the fight is done. Yes, even in the thickest of the battle we can
look up to Jesus, and cry, Thanks to God. The moment a soul,
groaning under corruption, rest* the eye on Jesus, that moment
his groans are changed into songs of praise. In Jesus you dis-
cover a fountain to wash away the guilt of all your sin. In Jesus
you discover grace sufficient for you, grace to hold you up to the
end, and a sure promise that sin shall soon be rooted out alto-

92 SERMON XVI.

gether. " Fear not, I have redeemed thee. I have called thta
by my name ; thou art mine." Ah, this turns our groans into
songs of praise ! How often a psalm begins with groans, and ends
with praises ! This is the daily experience of all the Lord's
people. Is it yours ? Try yourselves by this. O if you know
not the believer's songs of praise, you will never cast your crowns
with them at the feet of Jesus ! Dear believers, be content to
glory in your infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon
you. Glory, glory, glory to the Lamb !

SERMON XVI.

THE BROKEN HEART.

" The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God,
thou wilt not despise." — Psalm li., 17.

No psalm expresses more fully the experience of a penitent believ-
ing soul : — 1st, His humbling confession of sin, verses 3, 4, 5 ; 2d,
His intense desire for pardon through the blood of Christ, v. 7 ;
3d, His longing after a clean heart, v. 10 ; 4th, His desire to
render something to God for all his benefits. 1. He says, I will
teach transgressors thy ways ; 2. My lips shall show forth thy
praise ; 3. He will give a broken heart, verses 16, 17. Just as,
long ago, they used to offer slain lambs in token of thanksgiving,
so he says he will offer up to God a slain and broken heart.
Every one of you, who has found the same forgiveness, should
come to the same resolution — offer up to God this day a broken
heart.

I. The natural heart is sound and unbroken.

The law, the gospel, mercies, afflictions, death, do not break the
natural heart. It is harder than stone ; there is nothing in the
universe so hard. Isaiah xlvi., 12, " Ye stout-hearted, that are
far from righteousness." Zech. i., 11, " We have walked to and
fro through the earth, and behold all the earth sitteth still, and is at
rest." Zeph. i., 12, " I will search Jerusalem with candles, and
punish the men that are settled on their lees." Jer. v., 3, " They
nave made their faces harder than a rock." Isaiah xxxii., 10,
" Careless women ;" verse 11, " women that are at ease."

Why? — 1st, The veil is upon their hearts. They do not
believe the Bible, the strictness of the law, the wrath to come — the
face of a covering is over their eyes. 2d, Satan has possession.
Satan carries the seed away. 3d, Dead in trespasses and sins.
The dead hear not, feel not ; they are past feeling. 4th, They

SERMON XVI. J3

build a wall of untempered mortar. They hope for safety in some
refuge of lies — that they pray, or give alms.

Pray God to keep away from you the curse of a dead, unbrokec
heart. 1st, Because it will not last long — you are standing on
slippery places — the waves are below your feet. 2d, Because
Christ will laugh at your calamity. If you were now concerned
there is hope. Ministers and Christians are ready, Christ is ready
but afterwards he will laugh.

II. The awakened heart is wounded, not broken.

1. The law makes the first wound. — When God is going to save
a soul, he brings the soul to reflect on his sins. " Cursed is every
one," &c. " Whatsoever things the law saith," &c. " I was
alive without the law once," &c. Life and heart appear in awful
colors.

2. The majesty of God makes the next wound. — The sinner is
made sensible of the great and holy being against whom he has
sinned. " Against thee" Psa. li., 4.

3. The third wound is from his own helplessness to make himself
better. — Still the heart is not broken ; the heart rises against God.
1st, Because of the strictness of the law ; 2d, Because faith is
the only way of salvation, and is the gift of God ; 3d, Because
God is Sovereign, and may save or not, as he will. This shows
the unbroken heart. There is no more miserable state than this.

Learn. — It is one thing to be awakened, and another thing to be
saved. Do not rest in convictions.

III. The believing heart is a broken heart two ways.

1 . It is broken from its own righteousness. — When the Holy
Spirit leads a man to the Cross, his heart there breaks from seek-
ing salvation by his own righteousness. All his burden of per-
formances and contrivances drops. 1st, The work of Christ
appears so perfect — the wisdom of God and the power of God —
divine righteousness. " I wonder that I should ever think of any
other way of salvation. If I could have been saved by my own
duties, my whole soul would now have refused it. I wonder that
aJl the world did not see and comply with this way of salvation by
the righteousness of Christ." — (Brainard, p. 319.) 2d, The grace
of Christ appears so wonderful. That all this righteousness
should be free to such a sinner ! That I so long neglected,
despised, hated it, put mountains between, and yet that he has
come over the mountains ! Ezek. xvi., 63, " That thou mayest
remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any
more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for
all that thou hast done." Have you this broken heart — broken
within sight of the Cross ? It is not a look into your own heart,
or the heart of hell, but into the heart of Christ that breaks the
heart. Oh, pray fo/ this broken heart! Boasting is excluded

94 SERMON XVI.

To him be glory ! Worthy is the Lamb ! All the struggles of a
self-righteous soul are to put the crown on your own head instead
of at the feet of Jesus.

2. Broken from love of sin. — When a man believes on
Christ, he then sees sin to be hateful. 1st, It separated between
him and God, made the great gulf, and kindled the fires of hell.
2d. It crucified the Lord of Glory ; weighed down his soul ; made
him sweat, and bleed, and die. 3d, It is the plague of his heart
now. All my unhappiness is from my being a sinner. Now he
mourns sore like a dove, that he should sin against so much love.
" Then shall ye remember your ways, and nil your doings where-
in ye have been defiled, and shall ioathe yourselves in your own
sight."

IV. Advantages of a broken heart.

1. It keeps you from being offended at the preaching of the Cross
— A natural heart is offended every day at the preaching of the
Cross. Many of you, I have no dout>t, hate it. The preaching
of another's righteousness — that you must have it or perish —
many, I have no doubt, are often enraged at this in their hearts.
Many, I doubt not, have left this church on account of it, anJ
many more, I doubt not, will follow. All the offence of the Cross
is not ceased. But a broken heart cannot be offended. Ministers
cannot speak too plainly for a broken heart. A broken heart
would sit for ever to hear of the righteousness without works.

Many of you are offended when we preach plainly against sin.
Many were offended last Sabbath. But a broken heart cannot be
offended, for it hates sin worse than ministers can make it. Many
are like the worshippers of Baal — " Bring forth thy son that he
may die," Judges vi., 30. But a broken heart loves to see the
idol stamped upon and beaten small.

2. A broken heart is at rest. — The unconverted heart is like the
troubled sea — " Who wili show us any good ?" It is going from
creature to creature. The awakened soul is not at rest ; sorrows
of death, pains of hell, attend those who are forgetting their rest-
ing-place. But the broken heart says, " Return unto thy rest, O
my soul." The righteousness of Christ takes away every fear —
" casts out fear." Even the plague of the heart cannot truly dis-
turb, for he casts his burden on Jesus.

3. Nothing can happen wrong to it. — To the unconverted, how
dreadful is a sick bed, poverty, death — tossed like a wild beast in
a net ! But a broken heart is satisfied with Christ. This is
enough — he has no ambition for more. Take away all, this re-
mains. He is a weaned child.

SERMON XVII.

SERMON XVII.

" The wicked aie estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they b«
born : speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent ; they are
like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which will not hearken to the voice of
charmers, charming never so wisely." — Psalm Iviii., 3-5.

IT has been supposed by some interpreters that this psalm was
written as a prophetic description of the unjust judges who con-
demned our Lord Jesus Christ. 1. It begins by reproving them
for their unjust judgment. Verse 1, " Do ye indeed," &c. 2. It
opens up the dark recesses of their heart and history ; verse 3,
" The wicked are estranged from the womb ;" &c. And 3. It
shows their coming destruction ; verse 10, " The righteous shall
rejoice when he seeth the vengeance ; he shall wash his feet in the
blood of the wicked." However this may be, they were of the same
nature with us. The Scribes and Pharisees who condemned our
Lord had hearts of the same kind as ours, so that we may learn
this day the awful depravity of the heart of man.

I. Original depravity. — Verse 3, " The wicked are estranged
from the womb." The expression, " from the womb," occurs fre-
quently in Scripture, and means from the very first period of our
existence. The angel of the Lord said to the wife of Manoah,
Judges xiii., 5, " The child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the
wornb;" that is, from the very first point of existence. God says
to Jeremiah (i. 5), " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew
thee ; and before thou comest forth out of the womb I sanctified
thee ; and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jeremiah
was set apart as a prophet before he was born. Paul says,
Gal. i., 15. " But when it pleased God, who separated me from
my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son
in me.' Paul was set apart by God for the work of the ministry
from the very first. So, in the words before us, it is declared that
from the very first we are estranged from God. Now, this
estrangement is twofold.

1. Of the head. — The whole mind is estranged from God. u At
that time ye were without God." The natural man is ignorant of
God from the very womb. God is a stranger to him, so that he
docs not know him. He has no true discovery of God's infinite
purity, of his immutable justice, and of the strictness of the law.
lie does not know the love of God, nor haw freely he has provided
a Saviour. He is mainly ignorant of God. Psalm x. 4, '• God is
not in all his thoughts." Either he does not turn his mind upon
God at all, or else he thinks him altogether such an one as himself.
" There is none that understandeth." Psalm xiv., 2.

2. Of the heart. — A new born child will naturally feel after it*
mother's breast : it naturally seeks the breast. But it does not in

96 SERMON XVli

the same manner seek after God. " There is none that seeketh
after God." From the very first we dislike God. A child soon
comes to relish the presence of its earthly parents, and of other
children. It does not relish the presence of God. The natural
tendency of the heart is to go away from God, and to remain out
of his sight. A natural man does not like the presence of a very
en>inent saint. If he has full liberty, he will leave the room, and
seek other company more suited to his taste. This is the very
way he treats God. God is too holy for him ; he is too pure, and,
therefore, he does all he can to leave his company. This is the
reason you cannot get unconverted men to pray in secret. They
would rather spend half an hour in the tread- mill every morning
than go to meet God. This is the true condition of every one oi
you who is now unconverted ; indeed it was the condition of us
all, but some of you have been brought out of it. From the time
you were in the womb, till now, your whole head and heart have
been turned away from God. Gen. viii., 21, "The imagination
of man's heart is evil from his youth," &c. Job xiv., 4, " Who
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, not one ?" Your whole
nature is totally depraved. You are accustomed to think that
you have some parts good ; that though some part was depraved,
yet some part sick, the whole heart is faint. Your whole history
remained sound ; but learn that the whole head is covered with
sin. You are accustomed to think that great part of your life has
been innocent. You admit that some pages of your life are stain-
ed with crimson and scarlet sins ; some pages you blush to look
back upon ; but surely you have some fair leaves also. Learn
that you are " estranged from the womb." Every moment you
have spent without God, and turning away from God ; every page
has got this written at the top of it, This day God was not in all
his thoughts, he did not like to retain God in his knowledge.
Genesis vi., 5, "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually."

II. Actual sin ; " They go astray" fyc. — There are two paths
from which every natural man goes astray as soon as born.

1. The way of God's commandments. — This is the pure way of
light in which holy angels walk. They do his commandments,
hearkening to the voice of his word, Ps. ciii. It is a pure way,
having ten paths in which the feet of the upright love to go.
" Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of
the Lord." " Make me to go in the path of thy commandments ;
for therein do I delight." From this we go astray as soon as
born, speaking lies. One of these paths says, "'Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy neighbor ;" but this is one of the very
first that is forsaken ; speaking lies ; Isaiah liii., 6, " We all like
sheep have gone astray, turning every one to his own way."

2. The way of pardon. — Jesus saith unto him, " I am the way •"

SERMON XVII. 97

and again, " Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth
unto life." The same, Isaiah xxxv., 9, " The redeemed shall walk
there." From this way also " they go astray as soon as born,
speaking lies." Life is given to sinners just that they may enter
upon this way, but they spend it in going further and further
away. The parable of the lost sheep shows the true state of
every unconverted soul wandering away from the good shepherd.
He is seeking to save the lost; you are wandering further nnd
further away. Romans iii., 12, " They are all gone out of the
way." " Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way
of peace have they not known." And oh ! what fearful meaning
does this give to the declaration " speaking lies !" for it is written,
1 John ii., 22, " Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the
Christ?" And again, "He that believeth not God, hath made
God a liar." No man can go away from Christ without speaking
lies.

Learn, the fearful condition of those of you who are natural men.
1st, From the day you were born you have gone astray from
the path of God's commandments. Every year, month, week,
day, hour, minute, has been filled up with sin. Every day has
seen you go further from holiness^ further from God. nearer to
hell. You are treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.
Oh ! what a treasure ; keeping up fuel to burn you through eter-
nity. If any of you live in drinking or swearing, or any one sin,
you are heaping up fuel for your eternal hell. You are getting
further on in your sin. You are wreathing your chains more and
more round you. By a law of human nature, every time you sin,
the habit becomes stronger, so that you are every day becoming
more completely like the devil. It is every day more hard to
turn. Experience shows that most people are converted when
young. Dear young people, every day you live in sin it will be
more impossible to turn. " They that seek me early shall find
me."

2</, From the day you were born you have gone astray from
Christ. The good shepherd has been seeking you. Every day
you remain unsaved, you are wandering -iway from him. Every
day you are getting nearer to hell and further from Christ. Un-
belief gets stronger every day.

III. The deadly enmity of natural men to God — " Their poison."
&c. For two reasons : —

1. Because they are the children of the old serpent, the devil. —
All natural men arc the seed of the serpent. See Gen. iii , 15.
All who oppose and dislike the children of God, do so because
they are the seed of the serpent, and the poison of the old serpent
remains in them. John the Baptist calls the Pharisees a genera-
tion of vipers, Matt, iii., 7, " O generation of vipers." In a still
more dreadful manner did our blessed Lord, Matt, xxiii., 33, " Ye

7

98 SERMON XVII.

serpents, ye generation of vipers." The Pharisees and Sad
ducees were not of a diflbrent nature from us ; they had the same
flesh and blood, and the same wicked heart ; they were children
of their father, the devil, and the lusts of their father they would
do: "Their poison was like the poison of a serpent."

2. Because they have a mortal enmity to God. — The poison of
the serpent is deadly poison. When it darts its envenomed sting
into a man it seeks to kill him. Such is the cruel venom of the
natural heart against God. He is a mortal enemy to God's holy
government. It has been said, " If the throne of God were within
your reach, and you knew, it would not be safe one hour." He
is a mortal enemy to the very being of God. Psalm xiv., 1, " The
fool has said in his heart there is no God." It is in his heart he
says this ; this is the -secret desire of every unconverted bosom.
If the breast of God were within the reach of men, it would be
stabbed a million of times in one moment. When God was mani-
fest in the flesh, he was altogether lovely ; he did no sin ; he went
about continually doing good : and yet they took him and hung
him on a tree ; they mocked him and spit upon him. And this is
the way men would do with God again.

Learn — 1st, The fearful depravity of your heart. I venture to
say there is not an unconverted man present who has the most
distant idea of the monstrous wickedness that is now within his
breast. Stop till you are in hell, and it will break out unrestrained.
But still let me tell you what it is ; you have a heart that would
kill God if you could. If the bosom of God were now within your
reach, and one blow would rid the universe of God, you have a
heart fit to do the deed. 2d, The amazing love of Christ ; " While
we were enemies, Christ died for us."

IV. Deaf -to the voice of the Gospel. — It is a well known fact
that many kinds of serpents can be tamed by the power of music.
This is referred to in Ecclesiastes x., 11, and Jeremiah viii., 17.
Many travellers in Egypt and India have seen tnis. But there is
said to be one kind of serpent which is either deaf, so that it can-
not hear the music, or it has the power of making itself deaf for
the time, so that it is not charmed. So it is w;th unconverted
men.

Christ is the great charmer. His voice is like the sound of
many waters. Never man spake like this man. When Andrew
and Peter heard it, they left all and followed him ; so did James,
and John, and Matthew. When the bride hears him, she cries,
The voice of my beloved ! When the sheep hear his voice, they
follow him ; when the dead hear his voice, they live ; when the
heavy laden hear it, they find rest.

But unconverted men will not hear. They are like Manasseh •
they will not hearken ; they are like the Jews when Stephen
preached, they stopped their ears and ran.

SERMON XVIII. 99

Ah, how many of you are doing this very thing, stopping your
ears ? How many of you stop your ears with the noise of the
world, its business and care; some with a favorite lust? The
voice of the great charmer has been often heard in this place, and
some have heard it and followed him ; and why are you left behind ?

Learn — 1st, The folly of this. He is charming you to bless
you, to bring you to peace, pardon, holiness. " There is no other
name given among men whereby you can be saved." 2d, The
guilt of this. It is the highest sin of all, to refuse him that speak-
eth from heaven. Heb. xii., 25. It is put last here. It is un-
pardonable. All manner of sin and blasphemy may be forgiven
to you, but if you will not hear the voice of Christ you must
perish. Christ is knocking at your door and saying, " If any man
hear my voice I will come in." Oh, think of the guilt of letting
the Son of God stand at your door? Some would fain lay the
blame orT ihemselves, but God washes himself clear of the unbe-
liever's guilt. It is you that stop your ear; -ye do always resist
the Holv • *host. You will one day find that he that believeth not
s\cJ' be !* uned.

SERMON XVIII.

" On ' iraim, what shall I do unto thee ? 0 Judah, what shall I do unto thee ?
for yW goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away."
Hiaea vi., 4.

Doctrine. — The impressions of natural men are fading

In these words, God complains that he did not know what to
do with Israel, their impressions were so fading. He says,
verse 5. that he had hewed them by the prophets, and slain them
by the words of his mouth : and their judgments were as the
light that goeth forth. At one time he sent them severe awakening
messages of coming wrath ; then messages of love and grace, as
bright and as many as the beams of the sun. They were a little
impressed by them ; the cloud of distress began to gather on
their brow, the dew of grief seemed to start to their cheek, but it
soon dried up. It was like the morning cloud and early dew that
goeth away. So it is with all the unconverted persons in this
congregation, who will finally perish. God has sent them awak-
ening messages, hewed them by the prophets, and slain them by
the words ot his mouth. He has sent them also sweet encourag-
ing messages ; his judgments have been like the light that goeth
forth. They think, and are impressed for a little, but it soon dies
away. " O Ephraim, what shall I do," &c.

100 SERMON XVIII.

I. The fact that the impressions of natural men fade away.

1. Prove the fact from Scripture. — The Scriptures abound will.
examples of it." 1st, Lot's wife. — She was a good deal awakened
The anxious faces of the two angelic men, their awful words,
and merciful hands, made a deep impression on her. The anxiety
of her husband, too, and his words to his sons-on-law, sunk into
her heart. She fled with anxious steps ; Lut as the morning
brightened, her anxious thoughts began to wear away. She
looked back, and became a pillar of salt. 2d, Isratl at the Red
Sea. — When Israel had been led through the deep \i iter in
safety, and when they saw their enemies drowned, theu they sang
God's praise. Their hearts were much affected by this deliver-
ance. They sang, " The Lord is my strength and song, ho is also.
become my salvation." They sang his praise, but soon forgot his
works. In three days they were murmuring against God because
of the bitter waters. 3d, Once a young man came running to
Jesus, and he kneeled down, saying, " Good Master, what good
thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ?" A flash cf con-
viction had passed over his conscience ; he was now kneeling at
the feet of Christ, but he never kneeled there any more ; he wen!,
away sorrowful. His goodness was like a morning cloud. 4th,
Once Paul preached before Felix, the Roman Governor ; and as
he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,
Felix trembled. The preaching of the gospel made the proud
Roman tremble on nis throne, but did it save his soul ? Ah, no !
" Go thy way for this time, when I have a more convenient sea-
son I will send for thee." His goodness was like the morning
cloud. 5/A, Again, Paul preached before King Agrippa gnu his
beautiful Bernice, with all the captains and chief men of the City.
The word troubled Agrippa's heart, the tear started into hisr^yil
eye, for a moment he thought of leaving all for Christ. "Almost
thou persuadest me to be a Christian." But ah ! his goodness
was like a morning cloud arid early dew. In ail these the cloud
gathered over them, for a moment the dew glistened in their
eye, but soon it passed away, and left the hard rock)7 heart
behind.

2. Prove the fact from experience. — Most men under a preached
gospel have their times of awakening. If the impressions of
natural men were permanent, then most would be save'*., but we
know that this is not the case. Few there be that find it. Per-
haps 1 would not go far wrong if I were to say, that there may
not be ten grown up men in this congregation who have never
experienced any concern for their soul, and yet I fear there may
be hundreds who will finally perish.

\yt, How many have had a time of awakening in childhood,
when they were prayed over by a believing mother, or \\a. ^ed
by a believing father, or taught by a faithful Sabxiath-sd'r ~1
eacher ? How many have had deep impressions made at. the

SERMON XVIII. 10J

Sabbath-school ? But they have passed away like the morning
cloud and early dew.

2d, At their first communion, when they first spoke to a minis-
ter about their soul, and heard his piercing questions and faithful
warnings, when they got their token from his hand, when they first
received the bread and wine, and sat at the table of the Lord,
they trembled, the tear dimmed their eye, they went home to
pray. But soon it wore away. The world, pleasure, cares,
involved the mind, and all was gone like the cloud and the dew.

3d, A first sickness. How many, laid down on a bed of sick-
ness, are made to look over the verge of the grave ? They
tremble as they think how unprepared they are to die ; and now
they begin to vow and resolve, if the Lord spare me, I will avoid
evil companions, I will pray and read my Bible, &c. ; but no
sooner are they better than the resolutions are forgotten, like the
cloud and dew.

4th. First death in a family. What a deep impression this
makes on a feeling heart. That lovely circle is broken round the
fire, and never will be whole again. Now they begin to pray, to
turn to him that smites. Perhaps kneeling beside the cold body,
they vow no longer to go back to sin and lolly. Or, following the
body to the grave, while the big tear stands in the eye, they pro-
mise to bury all their sins and follies in the grave of their beloved
one. But soon a change comes over them, the tears dry up, and
the prayer is forgotten. The world takes its place again and
reigns. Their goodness is as the morning cloud.

5th, In a time of awakening, many receive deep impressions.
Some are alarmed to see others alarmed that are no worse than
they. Many have their feelings stirred, their affections moved.
Many are brought to desire conversion, to weep and to pray. Mr.
Edwards mentions that there was scarcely an individual in the
whole town unconcerned ; there were tokens of God's promise in
every house. So here ; and yet, when the time is past, how soon
they sink back into former indifference. Their goodness is as the
morning cloud.

Dear friends, ye are my witnesses. I do not know, bat I believe
I am not wrong in stating, that by far the greater number of you
have been under remorse at some time or another, and yet God
and your own consciences know how fading these impressions
have been. Just as the morning cloud passes off the moun-
tain's brow, and the dew is dried up from the rock, and leaves
it a rock still, so your impressions have passed away, and left
you a rocky heart still. So it is in those that perish. The way
to hell is paved with good intentions, and hell is peopled with
those who once wept and prayed for their souls. " O Ephraim,
what shall I do unto thee ?"

3. Let us show the steps of impressions fading away. — When a

102 SERMON XVIII

natural man is under concern, he begins to make a very diligen*
asc of the means of grace.

1st, Prayer. — When a man is under the fear of hell, he begins
to pray, and often he has very melting and sweet affections in
pravcr. As long as his impressions last, he may be very con-
stant in his duty. But will he always call upon God ? When his
concern ceascsj his praying in secret gradually ceases also. Not
all at once, but by degrees he gives up secret prayer. Once he
has been out in company, another time kept long at business, ano-
ther time he is sleeping, and so by degrees he gives it up altoge-
ther. " O Ephraim," tec.

2d, 'Hearing the word. — When a man is first awakened, he
comes well out to the preaching of the word. He knows that
Ci.id blesses especially the preaching of the word — that it pleases
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that beli-evc.
He is an arrested hearer ; he drinks in the words of the minis-
ter ; he is lively in his attendance on the word ; if there be
preaching in the week evening, he puts by his work in order to be
there. But, when his concern wears away, he begins to weary
first of the week-day service, then of the Sabbath, then perhaps
he seeks a more careless ministry, where he may slumber on
till death and judgment. Ah, this has been the course of thou-
sands in this place. '• O Ephraim," &c.

3d, Asking counsel of ministers. — When souls are under
remorse, they often ask counsel of the under shepherds of Christ.
" Going and weeping, they come to seek the Lord their God ; they
ask the way to Zion." They go to the watchman, saying. Saw
ye him whom my soul loveth '{ This is one of the duties of the
faithful pastor, for " the priest's lips should keep knowledge ; and
they should seek the law at his mouth ; for he is the messen-
ger of the Lord of Hosts." But when concern dies away, this
dies away. Many come once that never come again. " O
Ephraim," &c.

4th, Avoiding sin. — When a man is under convictions, he always
avoids open sin, flees from it with all his might. He reforms his
life ; his soul is swept and garnished. But when his concern dies
away, his lusts revive, and he goes back like a dog to his vomit,
and like the sow that was washed to its wallowing in the mire.
If there was anything saving in the impressions of natural men,
they would turn holier : but, on the contrary, they turn worse
and worse. Seven devils enter into that man, and the lattei
er*l is worse than the beginning. " O Ephraim," &c.

II. Peasons why the impressions of natural men die away.

1. They never are brought to feel truly lost. — The wounds of
natural men are generally skin deep. Sometimes it is just a flash
of terror that has alarmed them. Often ;t is the sense of some
one great sin they have committed. Sometimes it is only sympa

SERMON XVIII.

thy with others — fleeing because others flee. They are often
brought to say, I am a great sinner ; I fear 'there is no mercy for
me. Still they are not brought to feel undone, their mouth is not
stopped, they do not cover the lip like the leper. They think a
little prayer, sorrow, repentance, amendment, will do. If they
:/uuld only change their way. They are not brought to see that
all they do just signifies nothing toward justifying them. If they
were brought to feel their utterly lost state, and their need of
another's righteousness, they never could rest in the world again.

2. They never saw the beauty of Christ. — A flash of terror may
bring a man to his knees, but will not bring him to Christ. Ah"!
no ; love must draw. A natural man. under concern, sees no
beauty nor desirableness in Christ. He is not brought to look to
him whom he pierced, and to mourn. When once a man gets a
sight of the supreme excellence and sweetness of Christ ; when
he sees his fulness for pardon, peace, holiness, he will never draw
back. He may be in distress and in darkness, but he will rise and
go about the city to seek him whom his soul loveth. The heart
that has once seen Christ is smit with the love of him, and never
can rest nor take up with others short of him.

3. He never had heart-haired of sin. — The impressions of na-
tural men are generally of terror. They feel the danger of sin,
not the filthiness of it. They feel that God is just and true, that
the law must be avenged, that the wrath of God will come. They
•ee that there is hell in their sins ; but they do not feel their sins
to be a hell. They love sin ; they have no change of nature.
The Spirit of God does not dwell in them ; and therefore the im-
pression wears easily away, like as on sand. Those that are
brought to Christ are brought to see the turpitude of sin. Tb,ey
cry not, Behold I am undone, but, behold I am vile. As long as
sin is in their breast, they are kept fleeing to the cross of Christ.

•t. They have no promises to keep their impressions. — Those
who are in Christ have sweet promises. " I will put my fear ir
their hearts." — Jer. xxxii., 40. "Eeing confident that he whicft
hath begun a good work in you will perform it." — Phil, i., 6. But
natural men have no interest in these promises ; and so, in the time
of temptation, their anxieties easily wear away.

III. Sadness of their case.

1. God mourns over their case. — "OEphraim." It must be a
truly sad case that God mourns over. When Christ wept over
Jerusalem, it showed it was in a desperate case, because that eye
that wept saw plainly what was coming ; and accordingly, in a
few years, that lovely city was a ruined heap, and multitudes of
those then living were in hell, and their children vagabonds.
When Christ looked round on the Pharisees with anger, being
grieved at the hardness of their hearts, it showed a desperate
2ase ; he would not grieve for nothing. So here you may be sure

104 SERMON XVIII.

the case of natural men who lose their impressions is very despo-
tic, from these words of God, "O Ephraim."

•j. (/,)(/ ha* no /aw method of awakening. — God speaks as even
ai :i loss what to do, to show "you that there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins. You have heard all the awakening truths in
tho Bible, and all the winning, comforting truths. You have been
at Sinai, and at Gethsemane, and at Calvary: what more can I
do unto thee ? These have been pressed home upon you by Di-
vine providences, in affliction, by the bed of death, and in a time of
\\ idt> awakening. You have passed through a season when it was
ti ! f. Id more likely that you would be truly converted than at any
other time. You are sunk back. Ah ! the harvest is past, the
summer is ended, and you are not saved. God has no more
arrows in his quiver, no new arguments, no other hell, no other
Christ.

3. No good by your past impressions. — When the cloud is dried
up oft' the mountain's brow, and the dew offthe rock, the mountain
is as great as before, and the rock as hard ; but when convictions
fade away from the heart of a natural man, they leave the mountain
of his sins much greater, and his rocky heart much harder. It is
less likely that that man will ever be saved. Just as iron is hard-
ened by being melted and cooled again ; just as a person recover-
ing from fever relapses, and is worse than before.

1st, You are now older, and every day less likely to be saved ;
your heart gets used to its old ways of thinking and feeling ; the
old knee cannot easily learn to bend.

2d, You have offended the Spirit ; you have missed your op-
pcrtunity; you have vexed the Holy Spirit; convictions are not
in your own power ; the Spirit hath mercy on whom he will have
mercy.

3<f, You have got into the way of putting aside convictions.
The eyelid naturally closes when any object is coming against it,
so does the heart of a practised worldling close and shut out con-
victions.

4/A, When you come to hell, you will wish you never had had
convictions, they will make your punishment so much the greater.

I would now entreat all who have any impressions, not to let
them slip. It is a great mercy to live under a gospel ministry ;
still greater to live in a time of revival ; still greater to have God
pouring the Spirit into your heart, awakening your soul. Do not
Mfgl'-ct it, do not turn back, remember Lot's wife. Escape for
thy life ; look not behind thee ; tarry not in all the plain. Escape
to th«> mountain lest thou be consumed.

SERMON XIX. 104

SERMON XIX.

1 Sne hath dorw what she could ; she is come aforehand to anoint my body to tlie
ourying." — Mark xiv., 8.

Doctrine. — Do what you can.

From the gospel of John (xi., 2) we learn that this woman was
Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. We have already learned
that she was an eminent believer": "She sat at the feet of Christ
and heard his word." Jesus himself said of her, " Mary hath
chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Now, it is interesting to see this same Mary eminent in another
way, not only as a contemplative believer but as an active believer.

Many seem to think, that to be a believer is to have certain feel-
ings and experiences ; forgetting all the time that these are but
the flowers, and that the fruit must follow. The engrafting of the
branch is good, the inflowing of the sap good, but the fruit is the
end in view. So faith is good, and peace and joy are good, but
holy fruit is the end for which we are saved.

I trust many of you, last Sabbath, were like Mary, sitting at
the Redeemer's feet, and hearing his word. Now I would per-
suade you to be like Mary, in doing what you can for Christ. If
you have been bought with a price, then glorify God in your
body and spirit, which are his. I beseech you by the mercies of
God—

I. These are things which we can do.

1. We could love Christ, pray and praise more. — What this
woman did, she did to Christ. Jesus had saved, her soul, had
saved her brother and sister, and she felt that she could not do
too much for him. She brought an alabaster b- x of ointment
very costly, and brake the box and poured it on his head. No
doubt she loved his disciples, holy John and frank Peter, yet
still she loved Christ more. No doubt she loved Christ's poor,
and was often kind to them, yet she loved Jesus more. On his
blessed head, that was so soon to be crowned with thorns ; on
his blessed feet, that were so soon to be pierced with nails, she
poured the precious ointment. This is what we should do. If
we have been saved by Christ, we should pour out our best affec-
tions on him. It is well to love his disciples, well to love his
ministers, well to love his poor, but it is best to love himself. We
cannot now reach his blessed head, nor anoint his holy feet, but
we can f ;il down at his footstool and pour out our affections towards
him. It was not the ointment Jesus cared for: what does the
King of Glory care for a little ointment? but it is the loving heart
poured out upon his feet ; it is the adoration, praise, love, and

106 SERMON XIX

prayers of a believer's broken heart, that Christ cares for. The
new lu-art is the alabaster box that Jesus loves.

Oh, brethren, could you not do more in this way ? could you
not give more time to pouring out your heart to Jesus — breaking
die box and filling the room with the odor of your praise ? Could
vou not pray more than you do to be filled with the Spirit, that
the Spirit may be poured down on ministers, and God's people,
and on an unconverted world ? Jesus loves tears and groans
from a broken heart.

•J. We could live holier lives. — The Church is thus described in
the song of Solomon, " Who is this that cometh out of the wilder-
ness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all powers of the merchant ?" The holiness of the believer
is like the most precious perfume. When a holy believer goes
through the world, filled with the Spirit, made more than con-
queror, the fragrance fills the room, i; 'tis as if an angel shook his
wings." If the world were full of believers it would be like a bed
of spices ; but, oh ! how few believers carry much of the odor of
heaven along with them. How many you might be the means of
saving, if you lived a holy, consistent life — if you were evidently
a sacnfice bound upon God's altar. Wives might thus, without
the word, win their husbands, when they see your chaste conver-
sation coupled with fear ; parents might in this way save their
children, when they saw you holy and happy ; children have often
thus saved their parents. Servants, adorn the doctrine of God
your Saviour in all things ; let your light shine before men. The
poorest can do this as well as the richest, the youngest as well as
the oldest. Oh, there is no argument like a holy life.

3. You could seek the salvation of others. — If you have really
been brought to Christ and saved, then you know there is a hell,
you know that all the unconverted around you are hastening to it ;
you know there is a Saviour, and that he is stretching out his
hands nil the iay long to sinners. Could you do no more to save
sinners than you do ? Do you do all you can ? You say you
pray for them; but is it not hypocrisy to pray and do nothing?
W ill God hear these prayers ? Have you no fears that prayers
without labors are only provoking God ? You say you cannot
speak, you are not learned. Will that excuse stand in the judg-
ment? Docs it require much learning to tell fellow-sinners that
they are perishing '>. If their house was on fire, would it require
much learning to wake ..he sleepers ?

Begin at home. — Could you not do more for ihe salvation of
those at home ? If there are children or servants, have you done
all you can for them ? Have you done all you can ic bring the
truth before them, to bring them under a living ministry, to get
thsm to pray and give up sin ?

Do you do what you can for your neighbors ? Can you pass
your neighbors for years together, and see them on the broad

SERMON XIX. 107

way, without warning them ? Do you make a full use of tracts,
giving suitable ones to those that need them ? Do you persuade
Sabbath-breakers to go to the house of God ? Do you do any-
thing in Sabbath Schools ? Couid you not tell little children the
way to be saved ? Do you do what you can for the world? The
field is the world.

4. Feed Christ s poor. — I am far from thinking that the wicked
poor should be passed over, but Christ's poor are our brothers and
sisters. Do you do what you can for them ? In the great day,
Christ will say to those on his right hand, "Come, ye blessed, for
I was an hungered and ye gave me meat." They stand in the
place of Christ. Christ does not any more stand in need of Mary's
ointment, or Martha's hospitality,or the Samaritan's drink of water.
Ke is beyond the reach of these things, and will never need them
more ; but he has left many of his brothers and sisters behind in
this world, some diseased, some lame, some like Lazarus, all
covered with sores ; and he says, What ye do to them ye do to
me. Do you live plainly, in order to have more to give away ?
Do you put away vain and gaudy clothes, that you may be able
to clothe the naked ? Are you thrifty in managing what you have,
letting nothing be lost ?

II. Reasons why we should do what we can.

1. Christ has done what he could for us. — Isaiah v., 4, " What
could have been done more to my vineyard, that 1 have not done
in it ?" He thought nothing too much to do and to suffer for us.
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Greater love than
this hath no man. All his life, between the manger at Bethlehem
and the cross of Calvary, was spent in labors and infinite suffer-
ings for us. All that we needed to suffer, he suffered ; all that we
needed to obey, he obeyed. All his life in glory he spends for us.
He ever liveth to make intercession for us. He is head over all
things for us — makes everything in all worlds work together for
our good. It is all but incredible that each person of the Godhead
has made himself over to us to be ours. The Father says, " I am
thy God ;" the Son, " Fear not, for I have redeemed thee ;" the
H"|y Ghost makes us a temple, " 1 will dwell in them and walk
in them." Is it much that we should do all we can for him — that
we should g've ourselves up to iiim who gave himself for us?

2. Satan does all he can. — Sometimes he comes as a lion. Your
adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom
he may devour ; sometimes as a serpent, " as the serpent beguiled
Eve ;" sometimes as an angel of light. He docs all he can to
tempt and beguile the saints, leading them away by false teachers,
injecting blasphemies and polluted thoughts into thj.i minds, cast-
ing liery darts at their souls, stirring up the world to hate and per-
secutf* them, stirring up father and mother against the children,
and brother against brother He does all he can to lead captive

108 SERMON XI*.

wicked men, blinding their minds, not allowing them to listen to the
gospel, steeping them in swinish lusts, leading them into despair.
When he knows his time is short, he rages all the more. O should
not we do all we can, if Satan does all he can ?

3. We haw done all we could the other way. — This was one of
Paul's great motives for doing all he could — " I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord for putting me into the ministry, for 1 was a blasphemer,
and persecutor, and injurious." He never could forget how he
had persecuted the Church of God, and wasted it ; and this made
him as diligent in building it up, and hailing men and women to
Christ He preached the faith which once he destroyed. So with
Peter, " Let us live the rest of our time in the flesh, not to the lusts
of men, but to the will of God ; for the time past of our lives may
suffice to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked
in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and
abominable idolatries." So with John Newton, " How can the old
African blasphemer be silent ?" So with many of you ; you ran
greedily after sin ; you were at great pains and cost, and did not
spare health, or money, or time, to obtain some sinful gratification-
How can you now grudge anything for Christ ? Only serve
Christ as zealously as you once served the devil.

4. Christ will own and reward what we do. — The labor that
Chriet blesseth is believing labor. It is not words of human wis-
dom, but words of faith, that God makes arrows. The word of a
little rnaid was blessed in the house of Naaman the Syrian. " Fol-
low me," was made the arrow to pierce the heart of Matthew. It
is all one to God to save, whether with many, or with them that
have no might. If you would do all you can, the town would be
filled with the fragrance. Christ will reward it. He defended
Mary's work of love, and said it should be spoken of, over all the
world, and it will yet be told in the judgment. A cup of cold
water he will not pass over. " Well done, good and faithful ser-
vant."

5. 'If you do not do all you can, how can you prove yourself a
Christian ? — " Pure religion, and undefiled before God the Father,
is this. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and
to keep himself unspotted from the world." You are greatly mis-
taken if you think that to be a Christian is merely to have certain
views, and convictions, and spiritual delights. This is all well ;
but if it leads not to a devoted life, I fear it is all a delusion. If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

III. Let us answer objections.

1. The world will mode at us. — Ans. This is true. They mocked
at Mary, they called it waste and extravagance ; and yet, Christ
said it was well done. So if you do what you can the "world will
laugh at you. but you will have the smile of Christ. They mocked
at Christ when he was full of zeal ; they said he was mad, and

SERMON XX. 109

hr.d a devil. They mocked at Paul, and said he was mad ; and
so with all Christ's living members. " Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are
partakers of the sufferings of Christ." " If ye suffer with him ye
shall also reign with him."

2. What can I do, I am a woman. — Mary was a woman, yet
she did what she could. Mary Magdalene was a woman, and yet
she was first at the sepulchre. Phebe was a woman/ yet a suc-
corer of many, and of Paul also. Dorcas was a woman, yet she
made coats and garments for the poor at Joppa. I am a child —
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God perfects praise.
God has often used children in the conversion of their parents.

3. / have too little grace to be good. — " He that watereth others,
shall be watered himself." " The liberal soul shall be made
fat." " It pleased the Father that in Christ should all fulness dwell."
There is a full supply of the Spirit to teach you to pray, a full
supply of grace to slay your sins and quicken your graces. If
you use opportunities of speaking to others, God will give you
plenty. If you give much to God's poor, you shall never want a
rich supply. " God is able to make all grace abound toward you ;
that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to
every good work." " Bring all the tithes unto my storehouse,
and prove r-^ now herewith." "Honor the Lord with thy sub-
stance, ar d v. til the first fruits of all thine increase ; so shall thy
barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with
new wine."

April ^6, 1842.

SERMON XX.

•• It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul lo.ve'h ;
I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my motLcr's
house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me." — Song iii., 4.

HAVE you found him whom your soul loveth ? Have you this day
seen his beauty, heard his voice, believed the record concerning
him. sat under his shadow, found fellowship with him ? then hold
him, and do not let him go.

I. Motives.

1 . Because peace is to be found in him. — Justified by faith we
have peace with God, not peace with ourselves, not peace with
th<; world, with sin, with Satan, but peace with God. True Divine
peace is to be found only in believing, only in keeping fast hold of
Christ. If you let him go, you let go your righteousness ; for this
is his name. You are then without righteousness, without a cover-

HO SERMON XX.

ing from the wrath of God, without a way to the Father. The
law will again condemn you; God's frown will again overshadow
you; you will again have terrors of conscience. Hold him then,
:m.l \\Q not let him go. Whatever you let go, let not Christ go -
for he is our peace, not in knowledge, not in feeling, but trust :n
Jliiii alone.

•J. Holintss /lows from Him. — No true holiness m this world,
but it pprir.^s from him. A living Christ is the spring of holiness
to all his members. As long as we hold him, and do not let him
go, cur holiness is secure. Ho is engaged to keep us from falling.
He loves us too we'l to let us fall under the reigning power of sin.
His word is engaged,"! will put my spirit within you." His
honor would be tarnished if any that cleave to him were suffered
to live in sin. If you let him go, you will fall into sin. You have
no strength, no store of grace, no power to resist a thousand ene-
mies— no promises. If Christ be for you, who can be against
you ; but if you let go his arms, where are you ?

3. Hope of glcry is in Him, — We rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. If you have found Jesus this day, you have found a way
into glory. A few steps more, you can say, and I shall be for
ever with the Lord. I shall be free from pain and sorrow ; free
from sin and weakness ; free from enemies. As long as you
hold Christ, you can see your way to the judgment seat. " Thou
wilt guide me with thy counsel, and receive me to* thy glory."
This gives such joy, such transporting desires after the heavenly
world. But let Christ go, and this will be gone. Let Christ go,
and how can you die? The grave is covered with clouds of
threatening. Let Him go, and how can you go to the judgment
— where can you* appear ?

IT. Meant.

1. Christ promises to keep you holding Him. — If you are really
holding Christ this day. you are in a most blessed condition, for
Christ engages to keap you cleaving to him. " My soul followeth
hard after thee, and thy right hand upholdeth me." He that is the
Creator of thi world is the upholder of it, so he that new creates
the scu'. heeps it in being. This is never to be forgotten. Not
only d.:es the Church lean on her beloved, but he puts his left
hand under her head, and his right hand doth embrace her. " I
taught Ephraim how to go, taking them by their arms." It is
good for a child to hold last by its mother's neck, but ah ! that
would be a feeble support, if the maternal arm did not enfold the
child, and clasp it to her bosom. Faith is good, but ah ! it is no-
thing without the grace that gave it. " I will put my fear in your
heart"

2. Faith in Christ. — The only way to hold fast is to believe
more and more. Get a larger acquaintance with Christ : witn his
person, work, and character. Every page of the Gospel unfolds

SERMON XXI.

a iv w feature in his character ; every line of the Epistles discloses
new depths of his work. Get more faith, and you will get a firmer
hold. A plant tbat has got a single root may be easily torn up by the
hand, or crushed by the foot of the wild beast, or blown down by
the wind; but a plant that has a thousand roots struck down into
the ground can stand. Faith is like the root ; many believe a little
concerning Christ ; one fact. Every new truth concerning Jesus
is a new root struck downwards. Believe more intensely. A
root may be in a right direction, but, not striking deep, it is easily
torn up. Pray for deep-rooted faith. Pray to be stablished,
strengthened, settled. Take a long intense look at Jesus ; often,
often. If you wanted to know a man again, and he was going away,
you would take an intense look at his face. Look then at Jesus ;
deeply, intensely, till every feature is graven on your heart.
Thomas Scott overcame the fear of death by looking intensely at
his dead child, who had died in the Lord.

3. Prayer. — Jacob at Bethel. Isaiah xxvii., 5, " Take hold of
my strength." You must begin to pray after another fashion than
you have done. Let it be real intercourse with God, like Heze-
kiah, Jacob, Moses, &c.

4. By no4, offending Him. — 1st, By sloth. When the soul turns
sleepy or careless, Christ goes away. Nothing is more offensive
to Christ than sloth. Love is an ever-active thing, and when it is
in the heart it will keep us waking. Many a night his love to us
kept him waking. Now, can you not watch with him one hour?
Song v., 2. 2d, By idols. You cannot hold two objects. If you
are holding Christ to-day, and lay hold of another object to-morrow
he cannot stay. He is a jealous God. You cannot keep worldly
companions and Christ too. " A companion of fools shall be de-
stroyed." When the ark came into the house of Dagon, it made
the idol fall flat. 3d, By being unwilling to be sanctified. When
Christ chooses us, and draws us to himself, it is that he may sanc-
tify us. Christ is often grieved away, by our desiring to reserve
one sin. 4th, By an unholy house. " I brought him into my
mother's house." Remember to take Christ home with you, and
let him rule in your house. If you walk with Christ abroad but
never take him home, you will soon part company for ever.

SERMON XXL

" To whom God would make known what t» the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles ; which is Christ in you the hope of glory." — Colossians i., 27.

THE gospel is here described as " Christ in you the hope of glory."
There are two distinct senses in which these words may be taken,

112 SERMON XXI.

and I cannot positively determine which is the true one. It M
possible that both may be intended. I shall open up both.

I. Christ in you, means Christ embraced by faith as our right-
eousness ami strength ; and this is the sure ground upon which we
hope for ^lory. In this sense it appears to be used, Ephes. Hi., 17,
" That Christ' may dwell in your hearts by faith." When a sin-
nrr's hnari is opened by the Holy Spirit, when the beauty arid
excellence of the Saviour is shown to him, the heart inwardly
embraces and cleaves to Christ. Every new discovery of Chris't
to the soul renews this act of inward cleaving to the Lord Jesus.
Every reu/oach, every temptation, every fall into sin, every be—
reavemeat, ni'ikes the soul more really, firmly, and fully embrace
•.he Lord Jesu? : -and so, by continual faith, Christ may be said to
dwcil in the heart ; as in Ephes. iii., 17, " That Christ may d y;ell in
your heart by faith." Chiist thus embraced is the hope of giory.
It is this constant abiding faith ; this close embracing of Christ as
all our righteousness ; it is this which gives a calm, sweet, full,
peaceful hope of glory. The soul that can say, Christ is mine,
can also sav, i^iory is mine; for we need nothing but Chnst to
shelter us in the judgment-day. Can you say that Christ is thus
in you the hope of glory 1 If you have not got Christ, you have
no good hope ff glory.

II. Christ formed in the soul by the Spirit. — See Gal. iv., 19.
Christ formed in the soul is also the hope of glory ; and this I
take to be the full u.eauing of this verse. So, John xv., 4. " Abide
in me and I in you ;" John xvii., 23, " I in them and thou in me ;"
v., 26, " And I in them."

1. The mind of Cnrist is formed in the soul; 1 Cor. ii., 16,
" We have the mind of Christ." By the mind I understand the
thinking powers of man. Now, every believer has the mind of
Christ formed in him. He thinks as Christ does, " This is the
spirit of a sound mind," 2 Tim. i., 7. This is being of the same
mind in the Lord. I do not mean that a believer has the same
all-seeing mind, the same infallible judgment concerning every-
thing as Christ has ; but up to his light he sees things as Christ
does.

He sees sin as Christ does. Christ sees sin to be evil and bitter.
He sees it to be filthy and abominable ; its pleasures all a delusion.
He sees it to be awfully dangerous. He sees the inseparable con-
nexion between sin and suffering. So does a believer.

He sees the Gospel as Christ does. Christ sees amazing glory
in the Gospel. The way of salvation which he himself has wrought
out. It appears a most complete salvation to him, rfost free, most
glorifying to God and happy for man. So does the L.-i'ever.

He sees the world as Christ does. Christ knows what is h
man. He looked on this world as vanity, compared with the

SERMON XXI. 113

imi/e of his Father. Its riches, its honors, its pleasures, appeared
not worth a sigh. He saw it passing away. So does the believer.

He S30i: Lime as Christ did. " I must work the work of him that
sent me while it is day ; the night cometh," " I come quickly." So
does a believer look at time.

He sees eternity as Christ docs. Christ looked at everything in
the light of eternity. " In my Father's house are many manrioi.s."
Everything is valuable in Christ's eyes, only as it bears on eternity.
So with believers.

2. The heart of Christ. — By the heart I mean the affections, that
part of us that loves or hates, hopes and fears. We have Christ's
heart formed in us, " I will put my spirit within you," " I in you,"
" My words abide in you."

1st. The same love to God. — -What intense delight Jesu* had in
his father ' "Righteous Father, the world hath not known thec,
but I have known thee," " 1 am not alone, for the Father is with
me,"." I thank thce, O Father," " Abba Father." " Father, into thy
hand I commend my spirit." So with every believer.

2d, The same aversion to God's frown. — Psalm x~ii., !, " Why
hast thou forsaken me?'' verse 15. "Thou hast brought me into
the dust of death ;'' Psalm Ixxxviii., 7, " Thy wrath lieth hard upon
me ;" Psalm cii., 10, •' Thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down."
So with the children of Go I. Psahn xlii. 9, "I will say irtoGod
my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me ?"

3d. The same love to saints. — Psalm xvi., 3, " To the saints
that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my
Jolight ;" John xiii., 1, " Having loved his own which were in the
world, he loved them to the end;" John xv., 13, " Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends ;"
John xiv., 3, " I will come again, and receive you to myseif ;"
Acts ix., 4, " Saul, Saul, why persecutes! thou me ?" So it L*
with all true believers. Every one that loveth is born of God.

4th, Compassion to sinners. — This was the main feature of
Christ's character. This brought him from heaven to 'lie. This
made him weep over Jerusalem, long to gather her children. This
makes him delay his coming, not willing that any should pevish.
2 Peter iii., 9. All Christ's own are like him in this. The ijime
heart throbs within them.

5th, Tenderness to the awakened. — "He will not break the
bruised reed." O the tenderness of the lips that said. " Come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden." Such are all
Christians.

3. The life of Chnst — They live the same life in the main that
Christ did in the world. Though they have many falls, wax cold,
&c , still the main current of their life is Christ living in them
Gal. ii., 20, " Christ liveth in me ;" 2 Cor. vi., 16, " I will dwell in
them, and walk in them."

Bearing reproaches. — 1 Peter ii., 23, " When he was reviled,
8

(14 SKRMON XXI.

he reviled not again ; when he suffered, he threatened not.
Christ irlt reproach keenly, " Reproach hath broken mine heart.
Still he reviled no man, but prayed for them. So believers.

In doing good. — "He went about doing good." He made th.s
his meat and drink. So will nil who have Chris! formed ia
them. They do good, and to communicate forget not. The)
a p.- the almoners of the world. " They parted to all men,'
Acts ii., 45.

In being separate from sinners. — Christ walked through the
midst of sinners undcfilcd. Like a beam of light piercing into a
foul dungeon, °>r like a river purifying and fertilizing, itself untaint-
ed, so did Chnst pass through this world ; and so do all his ovvnr
Ps. ci., 4, "1 will nrt know a wicked person."

J>ut how is it thai Christ forme, in us is the hope of glory ? —
1st, Not legally. Christ in the seal is not our title to glory. We
must have a complete righteousness to be our title ; but Christ in
the soul is not complete. Most are sar.ly der-.eient in many ^f the
main features of Christ. It is Christ for u.*. .'^id hold on by faith,
that is our title to glory. Christ our wedding garment — the Lord
our righteousness ; this, and this alone, can give us boldness in the
day of judgment. 2d, Still really it is so. (1.) It is evidence
that we have believed on Christ. A man may know that he has
believed on Christ without any evidences. " He that believes has
the witness in himself." But if a man has believed, the effects will
soon be seen. Christ will be formed in him, and then he will have
double evidence that Christ is his. " He thai lacketh these things
is blind," 2 Pet. i., 9. (2.) It is meetness for glory. A holy be-
liever feels heaven begun. " The kingdom of God is within you."
He can say, Now 1 know I shall soon be in heaven, for it is
already begun in me. Christ lives in me. I shall soon be for ever
with the Lord.

IMPROVEMENT. — 1. Have you got the legal title to glory ? —
Christ dwelling in you by faith. You have heard how those who
are enlightened by God embrace Christ, and put him on abidingly
fc r righteousness. Have you done so ? Have you put on Christ ?
This is the only legal title to glory. If you have not this, your
hope is a dream.

2. Havs ynu got the meetness for glory ?- -Christ formed in you.
Does Chr.st live in you, and wal'. in you I " Without holiness no
man shd! see the Lord."

Dundte, 1843.
He writes at the close % Us n tes a;t;>r senr.on--" Very sweet and s ileran night *

SERMON XXII.

SERMON XXII.

A CASTAWAY.

• I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; so fight I, not as one that beateth the lir
Hut I keep un>\er my body, and bring it into subjection ; lest that by any iiieans
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." — 1 Cor. In
26, 27.

OBSERVE, 1. How earnestly Paul sought the kingdom of heaven.
— Verse 26, " I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; so fight I,
not as one that beateth the air." It was long after his conversion
that Paul writes in this manner. He could say, " To me to iive
is Christ, and to die is gain." He felt it better to depart and be
with Christ. He knew there was a crown laid up for him ; and
yet see how earnest he was to advance in the divine life. He
was like one at the Grecian games running for a prize. This is
tl:e way all converted persons should seek salvation. " So run
that ye may obtain." It is common for many to sit down aitei
conversion, and say, I am safe, I do not need to strive any more.
But Paul pressed toward the mark.

2. One particular in which he was very earnest. — " I keep under
my body, and bring it into subjection." He had observed in the
Grecian games, that those who were to run.and fight, were very
attentive to this, verse 25, " And every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things." This was one thing that
Paul strove for, to be temperate in all things, especially in eating
and drinking, " I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection."

S. His reason for all this earnestness. — " Lest when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Not that
Paal had not an assurance of his salvation ; but he felt deeply that
his high office in the Church would not save him, although he was
one of the Apostles — the Apostle of the Gentiles — one that had
labored more than all the rest ; though many had been converted
under his ministry, he knew that still that would not keep him from
being a castaway. Judas had preached toothers and yet was cast
away. Paul felt also that if he lived a wicked life he would surely
be cast away. He knew there was an indissoluble connexion
between living in sin and being cast away : and. therefore, it was
a constant motive to him to holy diligence. What he feared was
being " a castaway." The word is frequently translated " re-
probate." It is taken from the trying of metals ; the dross, or part
that is thrown away, is said to be reprobate or cast away.

What is it to be cast away ?

I. Wicked men shall be cast away from God. — Mat. xxv., 41,
" Depart from me, ye cursed ;" 2 Thess. i., 9, '« Who shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
I. <•'•<!, and from the glory of iiis power."

lift SERMON XXII.

1. Away from Christ. — At present ungodly men are often near
to Christ. Christ stands at their door and knocks. He stretches
out his hands to them all the day long. He speaks to them in the
Bible and the preached gospel. He says, Come unto me, and 1
will give you rest. Him that cometh unto me I will in nowise
cast out. But when Christ pronounces that sentence, "Depart
from me, ye cursed," there will nut be one knock more, not one
invitation more, not one sweet offer more. Christ is the only way
to the Father ; but -it shall then be closed for ever. Christ is the
only door ; but it shall then be shut for ever more. It is the
blessedness of the redeemed that they shall be with Christ. " To-
day shall thou be with me." Having a desire to be absent froni
the bodv and present with the Lord. So shall they be ever with
the Lord. His servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face.
Jt is this that maintains the eternal calm in the bosom of the re-
deemed. But the ungodly shall be cast away from all this
"Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into utter darkness."

2. Away from God. — True, the wicked can never be cast away
from the presence of God. Ps. cxxxix., 8, " If I make my beci
in hell, behold thou art there." Job says, " Hell is naked before
him, and destruction hath no covering." (xxvi., 6.) His almighty
power creates it; His breath kindles it. Isaiah xxx., 33, " The
breath o'f the Lord, Jike a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it/'
But they shall be banished.

1st, From the fruition of God. — God said to Abraham, " I am
thy shield and thine exceeding great reward." God makes him-
self over to the believing soul, saying, I will be thy God. David
says, God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever
Who can tell the joy of those who enjoy God, who have God
the infinite God, as their portion 1 From this the Christless shall
be cast away. You will have no portion in God. God will not
be your God. His attributes will be all against you.

2d, From the favor of God. — "In thy favor is life." The favor
of God is what believers feel on earth. A beam of God's coun-
tenance is enough to fill the heart of a believer to overflowing.
It is enough to light up the pale cheek of a dying saint with
seraphic brightness, and make the heart of the lune widow sing
for joy. From all this the Christless shall be casl away for ever;
and instead of it Jehovah's frown shall light on them for ever
" It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

3d, Cast away from the blessing of God. — God is the fountain
of all blessing. No creature is good or pleasant any more than
God makes it to be so. The sun warms us, our food nourishes
us, our friends are pleasant to us ; because God makes them so.
All the joys in the world are but beams from that uncreated light ;
but separate a man frcm God, and all becomes dark. God is the
fountain of all joy ; separate a mar. from God finally, and no
creature can give him joy. Thic is to be cast away, cut off, from

SERMON XXII. H "J

God for ever. Though there were no lake of fire, this of itself
would be hell.

II. Wicked men shall be cast away by the Holy Spirit. — It is not
often thought of, but it is true, that the Holy Spirit is now dealing
and striving with natural men. All the decency and morality of
unconverted men is to be attributed to ihe restraining gr^c? of the
Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit works on natural men through tkt ordinan-
ces.— The ordinance of family worship is often greatly blessei to
restrain wicked children, so that they are kept from vicious
courses and outbreaking sins. The ordinance of the read and
preached Word is also greatly blessed in this way to restrain
wicked men. The awful threatenings of the Word, the sweet
invitations and promises of the gospel, have this effect on uncon-
verted men, that they are greatly restrained from going to extreme
lengths in wickedness.

2. The Holy Spirit also works through providences in restrain-
ing wicked men. — He places them in such circumstances that they
cannot sin as they would otherwise do. He often reduces them to
poverty, so that they cannot run into the vices they were inclined
unto ; or he lays sickness on their body, so that their keen relish
for sin is greatly blunted ; or he terrifies them by bereavements,
so that they are kept in the bondage of fear, and dare not sin with
so high a hand as they would otherwise do.

3. The Holy Spirit also restrains through convictions of sin. —
Many men have deep wounds of conviction who are never saved.
Many are pierced with arrows of the Word from time to time,
and thus are driven away from their wicked companions and
scared from open sin. Restraining grace is an amazing work of
God. It is more wonderful than his setting a bound to the sea
that it cannot pass over. Think what a hell every unconverted
bosom would become, if the Spirit were to withdraw and give
men over to their own hearts' lusts. Think what a hell an uncon-
verted family would become, if the Spiri* v/;re to withdraw his
bands. What hatreds, strifes, murders, parricides would take
place ! Think what a hell this town would become, if every
Christless man were given over to the lusts of his own heart.

Now this is to be a castaway. Gen. vi., 3, " My Spirit shall
not always strive with man." The IIo!y Spirt, I believe, strives
with all men ; Acts vii., 51, " Ye do always resist 'he Holy Ghost ;"
but he will not always strive. Wuen the day of giace is done,
when the sinner sinks into hell, the Spirit will strive no more.

1st, The Spirit will strive n<" :.•: ore through ordinances. There
will be no family worsb.v in hell, no Bible read, no Psalms sun^r.
There will be no Sabbath in hell, no preached gospel, no watch-
men to warn you of your sin and danger. The voice of the

118 SERMON XXIJ.

watchman \vill he silent, the danger has come, your doom will be
past, and no room for repentance.

2rf, The Spirit will no more strive through providences. There
will be no more poverty or riches, no more sickness or bereave-
ments, no kindly providences restraining the soul from sin,
nothing but anguish and despair unutterable.

3d, There will be no more convictions by the Spirit. Con-
science will condemn, but it will not restrain. Your hearts will
then break out. All your hatred to God, the fountains of con-
tempt and blasphemy in your heart will be all broken up. You
will blaspheme the God of Heaven. All your lusts and impurities
that have been pent up and restrained by restraining grace arid
the fear of man, will burst forth with amazing impetuosity. You
will be as wicked and blasphemous as the devils around you.

O the misery ot this! it is an evil thing and bitter. The way
of transgressors is hard. Ah ! sinners, you will yet find sin the
hardest of all masters ; you will yet find your grovelling lusts to
be worse than the worm that never dies. '• He that is unjust, let
him be unjust still ;" Rev. xxii., 11.

III. Wicked men shall be cast away by all the creatures. — The
state of^ unconverted men at present, although a very dreadful
one, is yet not hopeless. The angels watch the unconverted, to
see if there is any sign of repentance. It is believed that the
holy angels are present in the assembly of God's worshippers.
1 Tim. v., 21. And if so, no doubt they watch your laces, to see
if a tear starts into your eye, or a prayer trembles on your lip.
There would be joy this day among the angels, if one sinner was
to repent.

The redeemed on earth are peculiarly interested in unconverted
souls. They pray for them night and day, many of them with
tears ; many a child of God wets his pillow with tears in behalf
of perishing souls. Jeremiah wept in secret places for their pride.
David says, Rivers of waters run down mine eyes. They seek
your conversion more than any personal benefit. Ministers are
set apart to seek after lost and perishing souls. " Go rather to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel." If ministers are like their
Master, this will be their great errand, that by all means we may
save some. But when the day of grace is past, all holy creatures
will cast you away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, for
the Lord hath reacted them.

The angel; will no longer take any interest in you. They will
know that u is not fit they should pity you any more. You will
be tormented in the presence ot !iie holy angels, and in the pre-
sence of the Lamb.

The redeemed will no longer pray for you, nor shed another
tear for you. They will see you condemned in the judgment
tnd not put in one word for you. They will see you depart into

SERMON XXII. 1 {g

everlasting fire, and yet not pray for you. They will see the
smoke of your torments going up for ever and ever, and yet cry.
Alleluiah !

Ministers will no more desire your salvation. It will no more
be their work. The number of the saved will be complete with-
out you ; the table will be full. Ministers will bear witness
again'.t you in that day.

Even devils will cast you off. As long as you remain on earth,
the devil keeps you in his train ; he flatters you, and gives you
many tokens of his friendship and esteem ; but soon he wul cast
you off. You will be no longer pleasant to him ; you wil. be a
part of his torment ; and he will hate you and torment you,
because you deceived him, and he deceived you.

IV. Wicked men shall be cast away by themselves. — It is said,
they shall wish to die, and shall not be able. They shall seek
death, and death shall flee from them. I believe that some sui 'ides
experience the beginnings of hell. I believe Judas did; he co'ild
not bear himself, and he tried to east himself away. This wil! be
the feeling of lost souls. They will not be able to bear the sight
of themselves ; they will be weary of being; they will wish they
had never been. At present, unconverted men are often very
self-complacent. They love to employ their faculties ; the wheels?
of their life go smoothly ; their affections are pleasant. Memory
has many pleasant green spots to look back upon. How different
when the day of grace is done ! 1. The understanding will be
clear and full to apprehend the real nature of your misery. Your
mind will then see the holiness of God, his alrnightiness, his ma-
jesty. You Will see your own condemned condition, and the
depth of your hdl. 2. T/ie will in you will be all contrary to
God's will, even though you see it add to your hell ; yet you will
nate all that God loves, and love all that God hates. 3. Youi
conscience is God's vicegerent in the soul. It will accuse you of
all your sins. It will set them in order and condemn you. 4.
Your affections will still love your kindred, "I have five bre-
thren," you will say. Earthly lathers who are evil know how to
give good u'ilts to their children. Even in hell you will love your
own kindred ; but ah ! what misery it will cost you, when you
hear them sentenced along with you. 5. Your memory will be
very clear. You will remember all your misspent Sabbaths,
your sermons heard, as if you did not hear ; your place in tho
house of God, your minister's face and voice, the bell ; through
millions of ages alter this, you will remember these, as if yester-
day. (>. Your anticipations. Everlasting despair. O how yop
will wish you had never been ! How you will wish to tear out
your memory, these tender affections, this accusing conscience !
You will seek death, and it will flee from you. This, this is to be
oat ! This is everlasting destruction ! This is to be a castawav.

120 SERMON XXIII.

LI-.SSONS.—I. Let believers learn Paul's earnest diligence. A
wicked life will end in being a castaway. These two are linked
tt'iM'ther, and no man can sunder them.

•j. Hell will be intolerable. I have not spoken of the lake of
fire, of the utter darkness, and the worm that never dies. I have
spoken only of the mental facts of hell ; and yet these by them-
selves are intolerable. 0 who can tell what it will be \vh..;:a both
meet, and meet eternally ? " Who knows the power of thine
anger ?" 0 do not keep away from Christ now. Now he says,
Come ; soon, soon he will say, Depart. O do not resist the Holy
Spirit now. Now he strives, but he will not always strive with
you. Soon, soon he will leave you. O do not despise the word"
of ministers and godly friends. Now they plead with you, weep
for you, pray for you. Soon, soon they will be silent as the grave,
or sing halleluiah to see you lost. O do not be proud and self-admir-
ing. Soon you will loathe the very sight of yourself, and wish
you had never been.

3. The amazing love of Christ in bearing all this for sinners.
Christ is a wrath-bearing surety. All that is included in being
a castaway he bore. Amen.

January, 1843.

SERMON XXIII.

A COMMUNION SABBATH IN ST. PETER'S.

I. SERMON.

" Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am .
that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me : for thou lovedst me
before the foundation of the world. — John xvii., 24.

I. The manner of this prayer. — " Father, I will." This is the
most wonderful prayer that ever rose from this earth to the throne
of God, and this petition is the most wonderful in the prayer. No
human lips ever prayed thus before — " Father, I will." Abraham
was the friend of God, and got very near to God in prayer, but he
prayed as dust and ashes. " I have taken upon me to speak unto
God that am but dust and ashes." Jacob had power with God, and
prevailed, yet his boldest word was, " I will not let thee go except
thou bless me." Daniel was a man greatly beloved, and got im-
mediate answers to prayer, and yet he cried to God as a sinner —
" O Lord, hear ! O Lord, forgive ! O Lord, hearken and do !"
Paul was a man who got very near to God, and yet he says. " I
bow my knees to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
But wh_n Christ prayed, he cried, " Father, I will." Why did he

SERMON XX III. [21

pray thus ? He was God's fellow. " Awake, O sword, againsi. my
s! ^pherd, against the man that is my fellow." He thought it no
robbery to be equal with God." It was he that said, " Let there
be light, and there was light." So now he says, " Father, I will."

He spoke as the Intercessor with the Father. — He ielt as if his
work were already done — " I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do." He felt as if he had already suffered the cross,
and now claims the crown. " Father, I will." This is the inter-
cession now heard in heaven.

He liad one will with the Father. — " I and my Father are one."
One God — one in heart and will. True, he had a holy human
soul, and, therefore, a human will ; but his human will was one
with his divine will. The human string in his heart was tuned to
the same string with his divine will.

Learn how surely this prayer will be answered, dear children
of God. It is impossible this prayer should be unanswered. It is
the will of the Father and of the Son. It'Christ will? ;t, and if the
Father wills it, you may be sure nothing can hinder it. If the
sheep be in Christ's hand, and in the Father'-s hand, they shall
never perish.

II. For whom he prays. — " They also whom thou hast given
me." Six times in this chnpter does Christ call his people by this
name — " They whom thou hast given me." It seems to have been
a favorite word of Christ, especially when carrying them on his
heart before the Father. The reason seems to be that he would
remind the Father that they are as much the Father's as they are
his own ; that the Father has the same interest in them that he
has ; having given them to him before the world was. And so
he repeats it in verse 10, " All mine are thine, and thine are
mine." Before the world was, the Father chose a people out of
this world ; he gave them into the hand of Christ, charging him
not to lose one, to bear their sins on his own body on the tree, to
raise him up at the last day. And, accordingly, he says, '• Of all
whom thou hast given me have I lost none." Is there any mark
on those who are given to Christ 1 They are no better than
others. Sometimes he chooses the worst. A. Yes. " All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me." One of the sure marks
of all that were given to Christ is that they come to Jesus — " They
all come to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the
blood of sprinkling." Are you come to Christ? Has your heart
been opened to receive Christ ? Has Christ been made precious
to you ? — then you may be quite sure you wen; given to Christ
before the world was. Your name is in the Lamb's Book of Life,
and your name is on the breastplate of Christ. It is for you he
prays, " Father, I will that that foul be with me." Christ will
never lose you. The Father which gave you to him is greater
than all, and none is able to pluck you out of the Father's hand.

122 SERMON XXIII.

Ill The Argument — " For thou lovest me" He reminds ihe
Father of his love to him before the world was. When there was
no earth, no sun, no man, no angel — when he was by him — then
thou lovest me. Who can understand this love, the love of the
uncreated God to his uncreated Son ? The love of Jonathan to
Ihivid was very great, surpassing the love of women. The love
of a believer to Christ is very great, for they see him to be alto-
gether lovely. The love of a holy angel to God is very ardent,
for they are like a flame of fire. But these are all creature loves ;
these are but streams ; but the love of God to his Son is an ocean
of love. There is everything in Christ to draw the love of his
Father. Now discern his argument — If thou love me do this for
my people.

Just as he said Jo Paul, " Why persecutes! thou me?" he felt
himself one with l;;s afflicted members on earth, Just as he will
say at the last day, " Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of
these, m} brethren, ye did it unto me." He reckons believers a
part v-l himself — what is done to them is done to him. So here,
when he carries them to his Father, this is all his argument, —
" Thou lovedst me." If thou love me, love them, for they are part
of me.

See how surely Christ's prayer will be answered for you, be-
loved. He does not plead that you are good and holy ; he does
not plead that you are worthy ; he only pleads his own loveliness
in the eyes of the Father. Look not on them, he says, but look on
me. Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Lcam to use the same argument with God, dear believers.
This is asking in Christ's name — for the Lord's sake — this is the
prayer that is never refused. See that you do not come in your
own name, else you will be cast out.

Come thus to his table. Say to the Father, accept me, for thou
lovedst him from the foundation of the world.

IV. The prayer itself. Two parts.

1. " That they may be with me" (1.) IVTiathe does not mean. —
He does not mean that \ve should be presently taken out of this
world. Some of you that have come to Christ may this day be
f ivored with so much of his presence, and of the love of the Father
— so much of the joy of heaven, and such a dread of going back
to betray Christ in the world — that you may be wishing that this
house were indeed the gate of heaven — you may desire that you
might be translated fror:; the table below at once to the table
above. " I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart
and be with Christ." Still Christ does not wish that. " I pray
not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but thou shouldst
keep them from the evil." " Whither I go thou canst not follow me
nn\v." (Like that woman in Brainerd's journal— " O blessed
Lord, do come ! O do take me away ; do let me die and go te

SF.;MON X..III. 123

Jesus Christ. I am afraid if I iuv I Jiall sin again.") 2. What
fie Joes mean. — He me:t-.js iluit when our journey is done we
should co*ne to be with hiui. E\-ery one that comes to Christ has
a journey to perform in this world. Some have a long and some
a short one. It is through a wilderness. Still Christ prays that
at the end you may be with him. Every one that comes to Christ
hath his twelve hours to fill up for Christ. I must work the works
of him that sent me while it is day. But when that is done, Christ
prays that you may be with him. He means that you shall come
to his Father's house with him. " In my Father's house are many
mansions." You shall dwell in the same house with Christ. You
are never very intimate with a person till you see them in their
own house — till you know them at home. This is what Christ
wants with us — that we shall come to be with him at his own
home. He wants us to come to the same Father's bosom with
him. " I ascend to my Father and your Father." He wants us
to be in the same smile with him, to sit on the same throne with
him, to swim in tne same ocean of love 'with him.

Learn how certain it is that you shall one day soon be with
Christ. It is the will of the Father; it is the will of the Son. It
is the prayer of Christ. If you have really been brought to
Christ, you shall never perish. You may have many enemies
opposing you in your way to glory. Satan desires to have you,
that he may sift you like wheat. Your worldly friends will do all
thi-y can to hinder you. Still you shall be with Christ. We shall
see your face at the table of glory. You have a hard heart, an
unbelieving heart, a heart deceitful above all things, and despe-
rately wicked. You often think your heart will lead you to betray
Christ. Still you shall be with Christ. If you are in Christ to-
day, you shall be ever with the Lord". You have lived a wicked
life. You Hve dreadful sins to look back upon. Still if you are
come to Jesus, this is his word to thee, " Thou shall be with me
in paradise." In truth, Christ cannot want you. You are his
jewels, his crown. Heaven would be no heaven to him, if you
were not there. This may give you courage in conrna in thu
Lord's table. Some of you lear to come to this tablu oecausi ,
though you cleave to Christ to-day, you fear you may betray KIT.
to-morrow. But you need not fear. " He that hath begun a good
work in you, will perform it till the day of Jesus Christ." Vou
shall sit at the table above, where Christ himself shall be at the
head. You need not fear to come to this table.

2. To behold my glory which thou hast given me. — There are
three stages in the glory of Christ. It will be the employment of
heaven to behold them all.

1st. The origin n I glory of Christ — This is his uuderivcd, un-
cr<-aled glory, as tae equal of the Father. It is spoken of in Prov.
vhi., 39, " Then I was by him as one brought up with him ; I was
dailv his delight, rejoicing always before him." And, again, in

i J4 SEK:*ON AMU.

this prayer, verse 5,. <; Th .A £i«ry which I had with thcc lefc. .«,
the world was." Of thi& tfv-r/ xio n.jn can speak— no angel— no
arrhangel. One thii.g '-lone we know, that wo are to honor th«i
Son even as we honor the Father. He shared with the Father i:i
being the all-perfect one, when there was none to admire, none to
adore, no angels with golden harps, no seraphs to hymn his praise,
no cherubim to cry, Holy, holy, holy. Before <til creatures were,
he was. One with the "infinitely perfect, good and glorious God.
He was then all that he afterwards showed himself to be. Crea-
tion and redemption did not change him. They only revealed
what he was before. They only provided objects for those beams
of glory to rest upon, that were shining as fully before, from all
eternity. Eternity will be much taken up with praising God that
ever he revealed himself at all ; that ever he came out from the
retirement of his lovely and blissful eternity.

2d, When he became flesh. — " The Word was made flesh.''
Christ did not get more glory by becoming man ; but he mani-
fested his glory in a new way. He did not gain one perfec-
tion more by becoming man ; he had all the perfections of God
before. But now these perfections were poured through a human
heart. The almightiness of God now moved in a human arm.
The infinite love of God now beat in a human heart. The com-
passion of God to sinners now glistened in a human eye. God
was love before, but Christ was love covered over with flesh
Just as you have seen the sun shining through a colored win
dow. It is the same sunlight still, and yet it shines with t
mellowed lustre. So in Christ dwelt all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily. The perfection of the Godhead shone through
every pore, through every action, word and look — the same per-
fections ; they were only shining with a mellowed brightness.
The veil of the temple was a type of his flesh ; because it cover-
ed the bright light of the holiest of all. But just as the bright
light of the shechinah often shone through the veil, so did the
Godhead of Christ force itself through the heart of the man
Christ J'-sus. There were many openings of the veil when the
bright glory shone through.

(1.) When he turned the water into wine. — He manifested forth
tis slory, and his disciples believed on him Almighty power
spoke in a human voice and the love of God, too, shone in it ; for
he showed that he came to turn all our water into wine.

(2.) When he wept over Jerusalem. — That was a great outlet
of his glory. There was much that was human in it. The
feet were human that stood upon Mount Olivet. The eyes
were human eyes that looked down upon the dazzling city. The
tears were human tears that fell upon the grourj. But oh, there
was the tenderness of God beating beneath that mantle. Look
and live, sinners. Look and live. Behold your G d. He that
hath seen a weeping Christ hath seen the Fathe*- This is Jod

SERMON XATIi 125

manifest in the flesh. Some of you tea; that the Father does
n^t wish you to come to Christ and be saved. But see here, G-nu
is manifest in the flesh. He that licnh rreen Christ hath seen the
Father. See here the heart of the Father and the heart of the
Son laid bare. O wh&rcfore should you doubt. Every one of
these tears trickles from the heart 01 God.

(3.) On the cross. — The wounds of Christ "vere the greatest
outlets of his glory that ever were. The Divine glory shone
more out of his wounds than out of all his life before. The veil
was then rent in twain, and the full heart of God allowed to stream
through. It was a human body that writhed* pale and racked,
upon the accursed tree ; they were hurnW hands that were
pierced so rudely by the nails ; it was human flesh that bore that
deadly gash upon the side ; it was human blood that streamed
from hands, and feet, and side ; the eye that meekly turned to his
Father was a human eye ; the soul that yearned over his mother
was a human soul. But O, there was Divine glory streaming
through all ; every wound was a mouth to speak of the grace and
love of God. Divine holiness shone through. What infinite
hatred of sin was there when he thus offered himself a sacrifice
without spot unto God 1 Divine wisdom shone through ! all
created inte'Ugencee could not have devised a plan whereby
God wouid have been just, and yet the justifier. Divine love :
every drop of blood that fell came as a messenger of love from
his heart to tell the love of the fountain. This was the love of
God. He that hath seen a crucified Christ hath seen the Father.
O, look on the broken bread, and you will see this glory still
streaming through. Here is the heart of God laid bare, God is
manifest in flesh. Some of you are poring over your own heart,
examining your feelings, watching your disease. Avert the eye
from all within. Behold me, behold me ! Christ cries. Look to
me, and be ye saved. Behold the glory of Christ. There is
much difficulty about your own heart, but no darkness about
the heart of Christ. Look in through his wounds ; believe what
you see in him.

3d, Christ's glory above. — I cannot speak of this. I trust I
shall soon one day see it. He has not laid aside the glory which he
had on earth. He is still the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. But he has got more glory now. His humanity is no
more a veil to hide any of the beams of his Godhead. God shines
all the more plainly through him. He has got many crowns now,
the oil of gladness now, the sceptre of righteousness now.

Heaven will be spent in beholding his glory. — We shall see the
Father eternally in him. We shall look in his face, and in his
human eye shall read the tender love of God to us for ever.
Wo shall hear from his holy human lips plainly of the Father.
u In that day I shall no more speak to you in parables, but show
you plainly of the Father." We shall look on his scars, healed,

126 SF?.MON XXIII.

yet plain and open on his hands, and feet, and side, and heaven
Origfat brow, and shall read eternally there the hatred of >:-d
against sin, and his love to us that made him die for us. And
sometimes, perhaps, we may lean our head where John leaned
his, upon h'.s holy bosorn. 'Oh ! if heaven is to be spent thus,
\\ hat will you do who have never seen his glory ?

O beloved, if your eternity is to be spent thus, spend much f
your time thus" If yqu are to be thus engaged at the table
above, be thus engaged now at the table below.

Communion Sabbath, Jan. 19, 1S40

II. FENCING THE TABLES.

" But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a poss<>ssion, ar !
kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brougi.i a certai j
part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back^arf of the price of
the land ? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own ? and after it wis sold was
it not in thine own power ? why hast thou conceived thi« thing in ti.ine heart ?
thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias, hearht?. these words,
fell down, and gave up the ghost ; and great fear came on all fh-»iu that heard
these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out,
and buried Aim. And it was about the space of three hours alter, when his
wife, not knowing' what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto liei,
Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much ? And she said, Yea, for so
much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to
tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? Behold, the feet of them which have
buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell slie
down straightway at his feet and yielded up the ghost; and the young men came
in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And
great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things
And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among
the people (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. And of
the rest durst no man join himself to them ; but the people magnified them
And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both, of men and
women)." — Acts v., 1-4.

THERE have been hypocrites in the Church of Christ from the
beginning. There was one, Judas, even among the twelve Apos-
tles : anil in the Apostolic Church there was an Ananias and a
Sapphira. Attend, 1. To their sin — a lie. When so much of
the spirit was given, all were of one heart and one soul. Those
that had estates sold them, and brought the price and laid it at
the Apostles" feet. It was a lovely sight to see. Among the
rest came one Ananias ; he was rich. From some worldly mo-
tive, he had joined himself to the Christians, husband and wife,
both Christless, graceless souls. He sold his possessions to be
like the rest, and brought a part and said it was his all ! He pre-
tended to be a Christian, he pretended that grace was in his
heart. It was not a lie to man only, but to the Holy Ghost ;
for he was declaring that God had wrought a change" upon his
soul, when there was none, he was still old Ananias. 2. Their
punishment. — They fell down and gave up the ghost. Oh ! it is
an awful thing when sinners die in the act of sin, with the lie ic

SERMON XXIII. 127

their mouth, with the oath on their tongue. So it was with poor
Ananias and his wife. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
they were in the place where all liars go. 3. The effect — great
fear came upon them all. None dare to join themselves to the
Apostles' company.

Dear friends, these things are written for our learning. Are
there none come up here to-day with Ananias' lie in their heart. ?

The broken bread and poured out wine represent the broken
body and shed blood of Christ. Oh ! it is enough to men the
heart of the stoutest to look at them. To take that breua and
that wine is declaring that you do close with Christ, that yuu take
him to be your Saviour, that God has opened your heart to be-
lieve. In marriage, the acceptance of the right hand is a solemn
declaration, by sign, that you accept the bride or bridegroom :
and so in the Lord's supper. If it is not so with you, then it
is a lie ; and it is a lie to the Holy Ghost. Ananias came de-
claring that he had got the 3pirit's work upon his heart. It was
a time when much of God's spirit had been given, verses 31,
32. It is likely he and his wife had some convictions. But
since it was false, since he was not really what he pretended to
be, it was said, " he lied 10 the Holy Ghost.'' So, dear friends,
the Holy Ghost is peculiarly present in this ordinance. He glo-
rifies Christ. He has converted many in this place. To sin
to-day is to lie against the Holy Ghost. By coming to the table,
you profess that you are under the Spirit's teaching. If you are
not, you lie unto the Holy Ghost !

Now, do you know that you have not come to Christ ? Do you
know that you are unconverted? And will you sit down there
and take the bread and wine ? Take heed, Ananias ! Thou art
not lying to a man but unto God.

Perhaps there is one among you who is secretly addicted to
drinking, to swearing, to uncleacness. Will you come and take
the bread and wine ? Take heed, Ananias !

Perhaps there are two of you, husband and wife, who know
that neither of you were ever converted. You never pray toge-
ther, and yet you agree toge.hor to come here. Take heed, Ana-
nias and Sapphira !

Is there none of you a persecutor ? Suppose a father, whose
children have come to Christ, but in your heart you hate their
change ; you oppose it with bitter words ; and yet, with a smooth
countenance, you come to sit beside them at the sarr»2 table ! O,
hypocrite, take heed lest you drop down dead ! Draw back that
hand lest it wither ! If we should see the cup drop from your
hand, and the eye glaze, and ine feet become cold. Oh ! where
would your soul be f

Dear children of God, (lo not be discouraged from coming to
this holy table. Il is spread for sinners that have come to
Jesus " O, come *nu dine." Some of you say, " I do not

SERMON XXI II.

know the way to this table." Jesus says, " I am the way."
Some of you say, " I am blind, I cannot see my sins, nor my
Saviour."' Go wash in the pool of Siloam. Some of you say,
M I am naked." Jesus says, " I counsel thee to buy of me white
raiment that thou maycst be clothed." You are polluted in
your own blood ; but has Jesus thrown his skirt over you ?
Then, do not fear; come with his robe on you. Come thus,
and you come welcome.

3. TABLE SERVICE.

(The only specimen of his Table Services, found in his own handwriting, but
without date.)

" My beloved is mine, and I am his" 1. " In the arms of my
faith he is mine." I was once of the world, cold and careless
about my soul. God awakened me, and made me feel I was lost.
I tried to make myself good, to menc mr life; but I found it in
vain. I sat down more lost than bcio-e, I was '.hep told to be-
lieve on the Lord Jesus So I tried to :i;a1:* rr.y:.plf believe. I
read books on faith, and tried to bend my sou) to b^.eve, that so
I might get to heaven ; but still in vain. I found it \vrinen, " Faith
is the gift of God." " No man can call Jesus Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost." So I sat down more lost than ever. Whilst I was
thus helpless, Jesus drew near, his garments Jippedin blood. He
had waited long at my door, though I knew it not. " His head
was filled with dew, and his locks with the drops of the night."
He had five deep wonnds ; and he said, " I died in the stead o*
sinners ; and any sinnzr may have me for a Saviour. You are a
helpless sinner, will you have' me ?" How can I resist him ! he is
all I need ! " I held him, and would not let him go." " My be-
loved is mine"

2. In the arms of my love, he is mine. Once I did not know
what people meant by loving Jesus. I always wished to ask how
they could love one whom they had never seen, but was an-
swered, "whom not having seen, we lov?." But now that I have
hidden in him, now that I am cleaving to him, now I feel that I
cannot but love him ; and I long to see him that I may love him
more. Many a time I fall into sin, and that takes away my feel-
ing of safety in Christ. Darkness comes, all is cloudea, Christ is
away. Still even then I am sick of love. Christ is not light and
peace to me ; but I fo'.icw hard siLer him amid the darkness he is
precious to rr.e ; and even though I be in darkness, he is my be-
loved still. " This is rt:/ ;,3k 7ij, and this is my friend."

.3. fls is mine in the Sacrament. — Many a time have I said to
him in prayer, Thou art mine. Many a time when the doors were
shut, and Jesus came in showing his wounds, saying, " Peace be
unto you," my soul clave to him, and said, " My Lor.d and my
God !" My beloved thou art mine ! Many a time have I try sled
with him in lonely places, where there was no eye of man. JNIanv

SERMON XXII . 129

a time have I called to the rocks and trees to witness that I took
him to be my Saviour. He said to me, " I will betrothe thee unto
me for ever ;" and I said to him, " My beloved is mine." Many
a time have I gone with some Christian friend, and we poured out
our trembling hearts together, consulting one with another as to
whether we had liberty to close with Christ or no, and both toge-
ther we came to this conclusion, that if we were but helpless sin-
ners we had a right to close with the Saviour of sinners. We
clave to him. and called him ours. And now have we come to
take him publicly, to call an ungodly world to witness, to call
heaven and earth for a record to our soul, that we do close with
Christ. See he giveth himself to us in the bread ; lo ! We accept
of him in accepting this bread. Bear witness, men and angels,
bear witness, all the u averse — " My beloved is mine."

(The communicants then partook of the broken bread and the cup of blessing.)

(It was his custom, after they had communicated, to speak briefly
on a few suitable texts, before dismissing them from the tables.
On Sabbath. January 19, the texts were — "Love one another;"
" Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it ;"
" In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall have
peace.")

4. ADDRESS AT THE CLOSE OF THE DAY.

" Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
bcfure thv. presence of his glory with exceeding joy." — Jude 24.

There is no end to a pastor's anxieties. Our first care is to get
you into Christ ; and next, to keep you from falling. I have a
good hope, dearly beloved, that a goodly number of you have this
day joined yourselves to the Lord. But now a new anxiety be-
gins, to get you to walk in Christ, to walk after the Spirit. Here
we are to tell you of what God our Saviour is able to do for you:
1st, To keep you from falling all the way; 2d, To present you
faultless at the end.

I. To keep you from falling.

1. We are not able to* keep you from falling. Those that lean
on ministers lean on a reed shaken with the wind. When a soul
has received saving good through a minister, he often thinks that
he will be kept from falling by the same means. He thinks, " O
if I had this'friend always beside me to warn me, to advise me."
\o ; ministers are not always by, nor godly friends. Your fathers,
where are they ? and the prophets, do they live for ever ? We
may soon be taken from you, and there may come a famine of the
bread. And, besides, our words will not always tell. Wi *.T»
tomptation and passions are stron-g, you would not givR heed
to us.

9

130 SERMON XXIII.

2. You are not able to keep yourselves from falling. At present
y.'u know littl.' <>i the weakness or wickedness of your own heart
There is nothing more deceitful than your estimate of your own
strength. O if you saw your soul in all its infirmity ; if you saw
how every sin has its fountain in your heart; if you saw what a
mere reed you ;ire, you would cry, " Lord, hold up my goings."
You may be at present strong, but stop till an inviting company
occur; stop till a secret opportunity. O how many have fallen
then ! At. present you feel strong, your feet like hind's feet. So
did Peter at the Lord's table. But stop till this burst of feeling
has passed away ; stop till you are asked to join in some unholy
game; stop till some secret opportunity of sinning all unseen, til).
some bitter provocation rouses your anger, and you will find that
vou are weak as water, and that there is no sin that you may not
fall into.

3. Our Saviour-God is able. — Christ deals with us as you do
with your children ; they cannot go alone. You hold them, so
does Christ by his Spirit. " I taught Ephraim also to go, taking
them by their arms." Hosea xi., 3. Breathe this prayer — " Lord,
take me by the arms." John Newton says, When a mother is
teaching her child to walk on a soft carpet, she will sometimes let
it go, and it will fall, to teach it its weakness ; but not so on the
brink of a precipice. So the Lord will sometimes let you fall,
like Peter on the waters, though not to your injury. The shep-
herd layeth the sheep on his shoulder ; it matters not how great
the distance be, it matters not how high the mountains, how rough
the path ; our Saviour-God is an Almighty Shepherd. Some of
you have mountains in your way to heaven, some of you have
mountains of lusts in your hearts, and some of you have moun-
tains of opposition ; it matters not, only lie on the shoulder. Hn is
able to keep you ; even in the dark valley he will not stumble.

•
II. To present you faultless.

1. Faultless in Righteousness. — As long as you live in your
mortal body, you will be faulty in yourself. It is a soul-ruining
error to believe anything else. O if ye would be wise, be often
looking beneath the robe of the Redeemer's righteousness to see
your own deformity. It will make you keep faster hold of his
robe, and keep you washing in the fountain. Now, when Christ
brings you before the throne of God, he will clothe you with his
own fine linen, and present you faultless. O it is sweet to me to
thLk how soon you shall be the righteousness of God in him.
What a glorious righteousness that can stand the light of God's
face ! Sometimes a garment appears white in dim light : when
you .^ring it into the sunshine you see the spots. O prize, then
th.o Divine righteousness, which is your covering.

2. Faultless in holiness — My heart sometimes sickens when
i think upon the defects of believers ; when I think of one Chris

SERMON XXIV.

tian being fond of company, another vain, another given to evi!
speaking. O aim to be holy Christians, bright, shining Christians.
The heaven is more adorned by the large bright conrtellations
than by many insignificant stars ; so God may be more glorified by
one bright. Chrictian than by many indifferent ones. Aim at being
tb'it one.

£• on we shall be faultless. He that begun will perform it. We
shall be like him, fcr we shall see him as he is. When you lay
down this body, you may say, Farewell lust for ever, farewell my
hateful pride, farewell hateful selfishness, farewell strife and envy-
ing, farewell being ashamed of Christ. O this makes death sweet
indeed. O long to depart and to be with Christ

III. To him be glory.

1. O if anything has been dene for your soul, give him the glory.
Give no praise to others ; give all praise to him. 2. And give him
the dominion to<j. YieM yourselves unto him, soul and body.

(SERMON XXIV.

TL'.a VOICE OP MY BELOVED.*

* The voice of my beloved ! behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skip-
ping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart : behold he
standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself
through th". l''tice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my
lair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone";
the flowers appear on the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is come, and
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land ; the fig-tree putteth forth her green
figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, i/iy love, my
fair one, and come away. 0 my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the
secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice ;
for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the
little foxes, that spoil the vines; for our vines have tender grapes. My beloved
i» mine, and I am his ; he feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and
the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart,
upon the mountains of Bether." — Song of Solomon ii., 8-17.

THERE is no boo)- of the Bible which affords a better test of the
depth of i man s Christianity than the Song of Solomon. (1.) If
a man's religion be all in his head — a well set form of doctrines,
built like mason work, stone above "stone — but exercising no in-
fluence upon his heart, this book cannot but offend him ; for there
are no stiff statements of doctrine here upon which his heartless
religion may be built. (2.) Or, if a man's religion be all in kit
fancy — if, like Pliable in the Pilgrim's Progress, he be taken with

* Auruat 14, 1836, when he preached as candidate— the first day he preach*
in St. liter's

X x.xiv.

the outward beauty of Christianity — if, like the seed sown upon
;he n •(•!<-. ground, his religion is fixed only in the surface faculties
of the mind, while the heart remains rocky and unmoved — though
In- will relish this 1-ook much more than the first man, still th, re
is a mysterious breathing of intimate affection in it, which cannot
but stumble and offend him. (3.) But if a man's religion be heart.
religion — if he hath not only doctrines in his hsad. but love to
Jesus in his heart — if he hath not only heard and read of the Lord
Jesus, but hath felt his need of him, and been brought to cleave
unto him, as the chiefest among ten thousandj and the altogether
lovely, then this book will be inestimably precious to his soul ;
for it contains the tenderest breathings of the believer's heart"
toward the Saviour, and the tenderest breathings of the Saviour's
heart again towards the believer.

It is agreed among the best interpreters of this book — (1.) Tha*
it consists not of one song, but of many songs; (2.) That theso
songs are in a dramatic form ; and (3.) That, like the parables oi
Chr.st, they contain a spiritual meaning, under the dress and orna-
ments of some poetical incident.

The passage \\ hich I have read forms one of these dramatical
songs, and the subject of it is, a sudden visit which an Eastern
bride receives from her absent lord. The bride is represented to
us as sitting lonely and desolate in a kio»'i, or Eastern arbor, a
place of safety and of retirement in the gardens of the East,
described by modern travellers as " an arbor surrounded by a
green wall, covered with vines and jessamines, with windows of
lattice work."

The mountains of Belher (or, as it is on the margin, the mount ;
of division), the mountains that separate her from her beloved,
r.Mpenr almost impassable. They look so steep and craggy that
«hr fears he will never be able to come over them to visit her any
more. Her garden possesses no loveliness to entice her to walk
forth. All nature seems to partake in her sadness ; winter reigns
without and within; no flowers appear on the earth; all the
singing birds appear to be sad and silent upon the trees ; and the
turtle's voice of love is not heard in the land.

It is whilst she is sitting thus lonely and desolate that the voice
of her beloved strikes upon her ear. Love is quick in hearing the
vo;ce that is loved; and, therefore, she hears sooner than all her
jr.aidens. and the song opens with her bursting exclamation,
" The voice of my beloved !" When she sat in her solitude the
mountains between her and her lord seemed nearly impassable,
they were so lofty and so steep ; but now she sees with what
swiftness and ease he can come over these mountains, so that she
.•an compare him to nothing else but the gazelle, or the young
hart, the loveliest and swiftest creatures of the mountains. " My
beioved is like a roe, or a young hart." Yea, while she is speak
ing, already he his arrived at the garden wall, and now, behold

SERMON XXIV. 133

" he looketh in at the window, showing himself through the lattice/
The bride next relates to us the gentle invitation, which seems to
have been the song of her beloved as he came so swiftly over the
mountains. While she sat alone all nature ssemed dead — winter
reigned ; but now he tells her that he has brought the spring-time
along with him. " Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For To, the winter is past, the rain is over and jjone ; the flowers
appear on the earth ; the time of the singing birds is come, and
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree putteth
forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a
good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."
Moved by this pressing invitation, she comes forth from her place
of retirement into the presence of her lord, and clings to him like
the tinTTOus dove to the clefts of the rock; and then he addresses
ner in these words of tenderest and most delicate aflection, " O my
dove, that art in the cklts of the rock, in the secret places of the
precipice, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice ;
for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." Joyfully
agreeing to go forth with her lord, she yet remembers that this is
the season of greatest danger to her vines, from the foxes which
gnaw the bark of the vines ; and, therefore, she will not go forth
without leaving this command of caution to her maidens, " Take
us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have
tender grapes." She then renews the covenant of her espousals
with her beloved, in these words of appropriating affection: "My
beloved is mine, and I am his ; let him feed among the lilies."
And last of all, because she knows that this season of intimate
communion will not last, since her beloved must hurry away again
over the mountains, she will not suffer him to depart without be-
seeching him that he will often renew these visits of love, till that
happy day dawn when they shall not need to be separated any
more — " Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn,
my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart, upon the
mountains of Either."

We might well challenge the whole world of genius to produce
in any language a poem such as this, so short, so comprehensive, so
delicately beautiful. But, what is far more to our present purpose,
there is no part of the Bible which opens up more beautifully
some of the innermost experience of the believer's heart.

Let us now, then, look at the parable as a description of one of
those visits which the Saviour often pays to believing souls, when
he manifests himself unto them in that other way than he doeih
unto the world.

1 . When Christ is away from the soul of the believer, he sits
alone. — We saw in the parable, that, when her Lord was away,
the bride sat lonely and desolate. She did not call for the young
and the gay to cheer her solitary hours. She did not call for the
har,j of the minstrel to soothe her in her solitude. There was no

IJ4 SERMON XXIV.

pip , p'-r tabret, r.-r vine at her feasts. No, she sat alone. The
ii">i mains seemed nil but impassable. All nature partook of her
sadness. Ii she r ould not be glad in the light of the Lord's coun-
tenance, she wi.3 resolved to be glad in nothing else. She sat
lonely and desol'te. Just so it is with the true believer in Jesus.
"Whatever be the mountains of Bether that have come between
his soul and Chriil ; whether he hath been seduced into his old
sins, so that '* his iniquities have separated again between him and
his God, and his sins have hid his face from him, that he will nc.it
hear;" or whether the Saviour hath withdrawn for a season the
comfortable light of his presence for the mere trial of his servant'^
faith, to see if, when he •' walketh in darkness and hath no light,
he will still trust in the name of the Lord, and stay hin.self upon
his God ;" whatever the mountains of separation be, it is the sure
mark of the believer that he sits desolate and alone. He cannot
laugh away his heavy care, as worldly men can do. lie cannot
drown it in the bowl of intemperance, as poor blinded men can do.
Even the innocent intercourse of human friendship brings no balm
to his wound, nay. even fellowship with the children of God is now
distasteful to his soul. He cannot enjoy what he enjoyed before,
when they that feared the Lord spake often one to another. The
mountains between him and the Saviour seem so vast and impas-
sable that he fears he will never visit him more. All nature par-
takes of his sadness — winter reigns without and within. He sits
alone, and is desolate. Being afflicted, he prays ; and the burden
of his prayer is the same with that of an ancient believer — " Lord,
if I may not be made glad with the light of thy countenance, grant
that I may be made glad with nothing else ; for joy without thee
is death."

Ah ! my friends, do you know anything of this sorrow ? Do
you know what it is thus to sit alone and be desolate, because
Jesus is out of view ? If you do, then rejoice, if it be possible,
even in the midst of your sadness ; for this very sadness is one
of the marks that you are a believer; that you find all your peace
and all your joy in union with the Saviour.

But ah! how contrary is the way with most of you? You
know nothing of this sadness. Yes. perhaps you make a mock
at it. You can be happy and contented with the world, though
you have never got a sight of Jesus. You can be merry with
your companions, though the blood of Jesus has never whispered
i-ea^e to your soul. Ah ! how plain that you are hastening on to
the place where ') there is no peace, saith my God to the wicked !"

II. Chrisfs coming to the desolate believer is often sudden and
iin-nderful. — We saw in the parable, that it was when the bride
was sitting lonely and desolate that she heard suddenly the voice
of her lord. Love is quick in hearing ; and she cries out, " the
voice of my beloved !" Before, she thought the mountains all but

SERMON XXIV. 13~

impassable ; but now she can compare his swiftness to nothing
but that of the gazelle or the young hart. Yea, whilst she speaks,
he is at the wall, at the window, showing himself through the
lattice. Just so is it oftentimes with the believer. Whilst he sits
alone and desolate, the mountains of separation appear a vast
and impassab'e barrier to the Saviour, and he lears he may never
come again. The mountains of a believer's provocations are
often very great. " That I should have sinned again, who have
been washed in the blood of Jesus. It is little that other men
should sin against him ; they never knew him, never loved him
as I have done. Surely 1 am the chief of sinners, and have
sinned away my Saviour. The mountain of rny provocations
hath grown up to heaven, and he never can come over it any
more." Thus it is that the believer writes bitter things against
himself; and then it is that oftentimes he hears the voice of his
beloved. Some text of the Word, or some word from a Christian
friend, or some part of a sermon, again reveals Jesus in all his
fulness, the Saviour of sinners, even the chief. Or it may be that
he makes himself known to the disconsolate soul in the breaking
of bread, and when he speaks the gentle words — " This is my
body broken for you ; this cup is the ISew Testament in my biood
shed for the remission of the sins of many ; drink ye all of it :"
then he cannot but cry out, " The voice of my beloved ; behori
he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills."

A\ my friends, do you know anything of this joyful surprise?
If you d ,\ why should you ever sit down despairingly, as if the
Lord's hand -were shortened at all that he cannot save, or as if
his ear were grown heavy that he cannot hear ? In the darkest
hour say, " Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art
thou disquieted within me ? Still trust in God, fur I shall yet praise
him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Come
expectingly to the word. Do not come with that listless indillur-
ence as if nothing that a fellow-worm can say were worth your
hearing. It is not the word of man, but the word of the living
God. Come with large expectations, and then you will find the
promise true, that he rilleth the hungry with good things, though
he sends the rich empty away.

III. Christ's coming changes all things ttt the believer, and his
love is more tender than ever. — We saw in the parable that when
the bride sat desolate and alone, all nature was steeped in sadness.
Her garden possessed no charms to Jraw her forth, for winter
reigned without and within. But when her Lord came so swiftly
over the mountains, he brought the spring along with him. All
nature is changed as he advances, anil his invitation is, " For the
winter is past, the rain is over and gone ; arise, my love, my fair
one, and come away." Just so it is with the believer when
Christ is away ; all is winter to the soul. But when he comes
again over the mountairs of provocation, he brings a gladsome

13f» SERMON XXIV.

yjn-iric:-.-!.!!:? :.ior.g wi«.V him. When that Sun of Righteousness
crises n'resh upon the soul, not only do his gladdening rays fall
upon the believer's soul, hut all nature rejoices in his joy. The
n-oii!. tains and hills bur.»: forth before him into singing, and all the
trr.-s of the field clip their hands. It is like a change of season
i" the soul. It is like tint sudden change from the pouring rains
of n. dreary winter to the full blushing spring, which is so peculiar
to the climes of the Sun.

The world of nature is all changed. Instead of the thorn comes
up l he fir tree, and instead of the brier comes up the myrtle tree.
Every tree and field possesses a new beauty to the happy soul.
The world of grace is all changed. The Bible wr.s ail dry and
meaningless before ; now what a flood of light is poured over its
pages ! how full how fresh, how rich in meaning, how its simplest
phrases touch the heart ! TJie house of prayer was all sad and dreary
before, its services W3i*e dry and unsatisfactory ; but now when
the believer sees the Saviour, as he hath seen him heretofore
within his holy place, his cry is — ' How amiable are thy taberna-
cles. 0 Lord of Hosts ; a day in thy courts is better than a thou-
sand." The garden of the Lord was all sad and cheerless before ;
now tenderness towards the unconverted springs up afresh, and
love to the people of God burns in the bosom ; then they that fear
the Lord speak often one to another. The time of singing the
praises of Jesus is come, and the turtle voice of love to Jesus is
once more heard in the land ; the lord's vine flourishes, and the
pomegranate buds, and Christ's voice to the soul is, " Arise, my
L>- e, rny fair one, and come away."

As the timorous dove pursued by the vulture, and well nigh made
a prey, with fluttering anxious wing, hides itself deeper than ever
in the clefts of the rock, and in the secret place of the precipice,
so the backslidden believer whom Satan has desired to have that
he might sift him as wheat, when he is restored once more to the
all-gracious presence of his Lord, clings to him with fluttering,
anxious faith, and hides himself deeper than ever in the wounds
of his Saviour. Thus it was that the fallen Peter, when he had
so grievously denied his Lord, yet when brought again within
sight of the Saviour standing upon the shore, was the only one of
the disciples who girt his fisher's coat unto him and cast himself
into the sea to swina to Jesus ; and just as that backslidden
ap.-stle, when again he had hidden himself in the clefts of the
Rc.Cn. of Ages, found that the love of Jesus was more tender
tc words him than ever, when he began that conversation which,
more than all others in the Bible, combines the kindest of reproofs
with the kindest of encouragements, " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou rne more than these ?" just so does every backslidden believer
find, that when again he is hidden in the freshly opened wounds
of his Lord, the fountain of his love begins to flow afresh, und
the stream of kindness and affection ': fuller and more overflow-
ing than ever, fox his word i?. • Ol , ay dove, that art in the

SERMON XXIV. 13*,

clefts of the rock, in tnc secret places of the precipice, let me so?
thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for swe< : is thy voice
and thy countenance is comely."

Ah, my friends, do you know anything of this ? Have you ever
experienced such a coming of Jesus over the mountain of your
provocations as made a change of season to your soul ? and have
you, backslidden believer, found, when you hid yourself again
deeper than ever in the clefts of the rock, like Petei girding his
fisher's coat unto him and casting himself into the sea, have you
found his love tenderer than ever to your soul ? Then should not
this teach you quick repentance when you have fallen? Why
keep one moment away from the Saviour? Are you waiting
till you wipe away the stain from your garments? Alas! what
will wipe it off, but the blood you are despising? Are you wait-
ing till you make yourself worthier of the Saviour's favor ? Alas !
though you wait till all eternity, you can never make yourself
worthier. Your sin and misery are your only plea. Come, and
you will find with what tenderness he will heal your backslidlngs,
and love you freely ; and say, " Oh, my dove," &c.

IV. I observe the threefold disposition of fear, love, and hope,
which this visit of the Saviour stirs up in the believer's besom.
These three form, as it were, a cord in the restored believer's
bosom, and a threefold cord is not easily broken.

1. First of all, there is fear. — As the bride in the parable would
not go forth to enjoy the society of her lord, without leaving the
command behind to her maidens to take the foxes, the little foxes,
that spoil the vines, so does every believer know and feel that the
time of closest communion is also the time of greatest danger.
It was when the Saviour had been baptized, and the Holy Ghost,
like a dove, had descended upon him, and a voice saying, " This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," — it was then
that he was driven into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil ;
and just so it is when the soul is receiving its highest privileges
and comforts, that Satnn and his ministers are nearest, the foxes, the
little foxes, that spoil th.3 vines. J. Spiritual pride is near. When
the soul is hiding in the wounds of the Saviour, and receiving great
tokens of his love, then the heart begins to say, Surely I am some-
body, how far I am above the everyday run of believers. This is one
of the little foxes that eats out the life of vital godliness. 2. There
is making a Christ of your comforts, looking to them, and not to
Christ, leaning upon them, and not upon your beloved. This is
another of the little foxes. 3. There is the false notion that now
you must surely be above sinning, and above the power of tempta-
tion, now you can resist all enemies. This is the pride that goes
before a fail ; another of the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the
vines. Never forget, I beseech you, that fear is a sure mark of a
believer Even when you feel that it is God that worketh in you,

139 SERMON XXIV.

3ti!l the word saith, work out your salvation with fear and trem-
b! ••$••; even when your joy is overflowing, still remember it is
w; u:cn, " rej-~ i o with trembling ;" and again, " be not high-minded,
bul fear." II member the caution of the bride, and say, " Take
us tiie foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines
have tender grapes."

2. But if cautious fear be a mark of a believer in such a season,
still more is ppropriating love. When Christ comes anew over
mountains c. provocation, and reveals himself to the soul free and
full as ever, in another way than he doth unto the world, then the
soul can say. " My beloved is mine, and I am his." I do not say
that the believer can use these words at all seasons. In times of*
darkness and in times of sinfulness the reality of a believer's faith
is to be measured rather by his sadness than by his confidence.
But I do say, that, in seasons when Christ reveals himself afresh
to th^ scul, shining out like the sun, from behind a cloud, with the
beams of sovereign, unmerited love ; then no other words will
satisfy the true believer but these, " My beloved is mine, and lam
his." The soul sees Jesus to be so free a Saviour; so anxious
that all should come to him and have life ; stretching out his
hands all the day ; having no pleasure in the death of the wicked ;
pleading with men, " Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die ?" The
soul sees Jesus to be so fitting a Saviour ; the very covering
which the soul requires. When first he hid himself in Jesus, he
Tound him suitable to all his need ; the shadow of a great rock in
a weary land. But now he finds out a new fitness in the Saviour,
as Peter did when he girt his fisher's coat unto him, and cast him-
self into the sea. He finds that he is a fitting Saviour for the back-
slidden believer ; that his blood can blot out even the stains of him
who, having eaten bread with him, has yet lifted up the heel
against him. The soul sees Jesus to be so full a Saviour ; giving
to the sinner not only pardons, but overflowing, immeasurable
pardons ; giving not only righteousness, but a righteousness that
is more than mortal, for it is all divine; giving not only the Spirit,
but pouring water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground. The soul sees all this in Jesus, and cannot but choose
him and delight in him with a new and appropriating love, saying,
*' My beloved is mine'' And if any man ask, How darest thou,
sinful worm, to call that divine Saviour thine ? the answer is here.
For lam his: He chose me from all eternity, else I never would have
chosen him. He shed his blood for me, else I never would have
shed a tear for him. He cried after me, else I never would have
breathed after him. He sought after me, else I never would have
sought after him. He hath loved me, therefore I love him. He
hath c hosen me, therefore I evermore choose him. " My beloved is
aiine. and I am his "

3. But, lastly, if love be a mark of the true believer at such a
•eason, so also is jwayerful hope. It was the saying of a true

SERMON XXV. 13$

believer in an hour of high and wonderful communion with Jesus,
" Lord, it is good for us to be here." JMy friend, you are no be-
liever if Jesus hath never manifested himself to your soul in your
secret devotions, in the house of prayer, or in the breaking «>i
bread, in so sweet and overpowering a manner, that you hav-j
cried out, " Lord, it is good for me to be here.*' But though it be
good and very pleasant, like sunlight to the eyes, yet the Lord
sees that it is not wisest and best always to be there. Peter must
come down again from the mount of glory, and fight the good
fight of faith amid the shame and contumely of a cold and scorn-
ful world. And so must every child of God. We are not yet in
heaven, the place of open vision and unbroken enjoyment. This
is earth, the place of faith, and patience, and heavenward-pointing
hope. One great reason why close and intimate enjoyment of the
Saviour may not be constantly realized in the believer's breast is,
to give room for hope, the third string that forms the threefold
cord. Even the most enlightened believers are walking here in a
darksome night, or twilight at rncst; and the visits of Jesus to
the soul do but serve to make the surrounding darkness more
visible. But the night is far spent, the day is at hand. The dc.y
of eternity is breaking in the east. The Sun of Righteousness is
hasting to rise upon our world, and the shadows are preparing
to flee away. Till then, the heart of every true believer, that
knows the preciousness of close communion with the Saviour,
breathes the earnest prayer, that Jesus would often come again,
thus sweetly and suddenly, to lighten him in his darksome pilgrim-
age. Ah, yes, my friends, let every one, who loves the Lord
Jesus in sincerity, join now in the blessed prayer of the bride — •
" Until the day break and the shadows flee away, turn, my be-
loved, and be thou like a roe or a voung hart upon the mountains
of Bether."

SERMON XXV.

OUE DUTY TO ISRAEL.1
" To the Jew first." — Rom. i., 16

MUST people are ashamed of the Gospel of '>hrist. The wise are
ashamed of it, because it calls men to believe and not to argue ;
the great are ashamed of it, because it brings ail into one body ;
the rich are ashamed of it, because it is to be luU without money
and without price ; the gay are ashamed of it, because they fear

• Preat ;ed Nov. 17,1839, after returning from the Mission to the Jew?

1 (0 SERMON XXV.

it will destroy all their mirth ; and so the good news of the glori
ous Son of God having conic into the world a surety for lost sin
i:cij>, is despised, uncared for — men are ashamed of it. Who arc
; ot ashamed of it ? A little company, those whose hearts the
;-it of God has touched. They were once like the world and
. 1' it, but He awakened them to see their sin and misery, and that
Christ alone was a refuge, and now they cry, None but Christ,
none but Christ ! God forbid that I should glory save in the cross
of Christ. He is precious to their heart ; he lives there ; he is
often on their lips, he is praised in their family; they would fain pr«-
cluim him to all the world. They have felt in their own experience>
that the gospel is the power of Cod unto salvation, to the Jew
fir.it, and also to the Greek. Dear friends, is this your experience ?
Have you received the Gospel not in word only but in pc ver?
Has the power of God been put forth upon your soul along with
the word? Then this word is yours ; I am not ashamed of the
Gospel of Christ.

One peculiarity in this staiement I wish you to notice. — He
r!ories in the Gospel as the power of God unto salvation to the
Jew first, from which I draw this DOCTRINI,, — That the Gospel
should be preached first to the Jews.

1. B*i<:use judgment will begin with them. — Rom. ii., 6-10.
"' Indignation and wrath, to the Jew first." It is an awful thought
that the Jew will be the first to stand forward at the bar of God
to be judged. When the great white throne is set, and He sits
down upon it from v/hose face the heavens and earth flee away ;
\\hen the dead, small and great, stand before God and the books
are opened, .-.nd the dead '.re judged out of those things that are
written in th, ; books, is it not a striking thought that Israel, poor
blinded Israel, will be the first to stand in judgment before God ?

When the Son of Mat: shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, when he shall sit upon the throne of his glory,
and before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats ; when the awful sentence comes forth from his holy
lips, depart ye cursed ; and when the guilty many shall move
away from before him into everlasting punishment ; is it not
enough to make the most careless among you pause and consider,
that the indignation and wrath shall first come upon the Jew ; that
their faces will gather a deeper paleness, their knees knock more
against each other, and their hearts die within them more than
others ?

Why is this? Because they have had more light than any
other people. God chose them out of the world to be his witness-
es. Every prophet was sent first to them ; every evangelist and
apostle had a message for them. Messiah came to them. He
said, " I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
The word of God is still addressed to them. They still have it

SERMON XXV. 141

pure and unadulterated in their hand ; yet they have sinned against
all this light, against all this love. " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto
thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not !"
Their cup of wrath is fuller than that of other men, their sea of
wrath is deeper. On their very faces you may read in every
clime that the curse of God is over them.

Is not this a reason, then, why the gospel should first be preach-
ed to the Jew? They are ready to perish, to perish more dread-
fully than other men. The cloud of indignation and wrath that
is even now gathering above the lost, will break first upon the
head of the guilty, unhappy, unbelieving Israel. And have you
none of the bowels of Christ in you, that you will not run first to
them that are in so sad a case ? In a hospital, the kind physician
runs first to that bed where the sick man lies who is nearest to
die. When a ship is sinking, and the gallant sailors have left the
shore to save the sinking crew, do they not stretch out the arm
of help first to those that are readiest to perish beneath the waves ?
And shall we not do the same for Israel ? The billows of God's
anger are ready to dash first over them ; shall we not seek to bring
them first to the rock that is higher than they? Their case is
more desperate than that of other men ; shall we not bring the
good physician to them, who alone can bring health and cure ? foi
the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek.

I cannot leave this head without speaking a word to those of
you who are in a situation very similar to that of Israel ; to you
who have the word of God in your hands, and yet are unbelieving
and unsaved. In many respects, Scotland may be called God's
second Israel. No other land has its Sabbath as Scotland has •
no other land has the Bible as Scotland has ; no other land has
the gospel preached free as the air we breathe, fresh as the stream
from the everlasting hills. O then, think for a moment, you who
sit under the shade of faithful ministers, and yet remain uncon-
cerned and unconverted, and are not brought to sit under the
shade of Christ, think how like your wrath will be to that of the
unbelieving Jew. And think, again, of the marvellous grace of
Christ, that the gospel is first to you. The more that your sins are
UK scarlet and like crimson, the more is the blood free to you that
washes white as snow ; for this is still his word to all his ministers,
Begin at Jerusalem.

8. It is like God to care first for the Jews. — It is the chief ,i,rl<>ry
and joy of a soul to be like God. You remember this was the
glory of that condition in which Adam was created. " Let us
make man in our image, after our likeness." His understanding
was without a cloud. Ke saw. in some measure, as GoJ sceth.
His will flow&i in the same channel with God's will. His affec-

14'J SERMON XXV.

lions fastened on the same objects which God also loved. When
man fell, we lost all this, and became children of the devil, and
not children of God. But when a lost soul is brought to Christ,
and receives the Holy Ghost, he puts off the old man, and puts on
the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness. It is ow true joy in this world to be like God. Too
many rest in the joy of being forgiven, but our truest joy is to
be like him. O rest not, beloved, till you are renewed after His
image, till you partake of the Divine nature. Long for the day
when Christ shall appear, and we shall be fully like him, for we
shall see him as he is.

Now, what I wish to insist upon at present is, that we should
be like God, even in those things which are peculiar. We should
be like h»m in understanding, in will, in holiness, and also in his
peculiai affections. " Love is of God, and every one that loveth
is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth
not God, for God is love." But the whole Bible shows that God
has a peculiar affection for Israel. You remember when the Jews
were in Egypt, sorely oppressed by their taskmasters, God heard
their cr , and appeared to Moses — " I have seen, I have seen, the
affliction of my people, and I have heard their cry, for I know
their sorrows."

And, again, when God brought them through the wilderness,
Moses tells them why he did it; Deut. vii., 7. "The Lord did
not set his love upon you, nor choose you because ye were more
in number than any people, for ye were the fewest of all people,
but because the Lord loved you." Strange, sovereign, most pe-
culiar love. He loved them because he loved them. Should we
not be like God in this peculiar attachment?

But you say God has sent them into captivity. Now, it is true
God hath scattered them into every land. " The precious sons of
Zi<»n, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen
pitchers !" — Lam. iv., 2. But what says God of this ? "I have
left mine house, I have forsaken mine heritage, I have given ike
dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies." — Jer. xii.,
7. It is true that Israel is given, for a little moment, into the hand
of her enemies, but it is as true that they are still the dearly beloved
of his soul. Should we not give them the same place in our heart
which God gives them in his heart? Shall we be ashamed to
cherish the same affection which our heavenly Father cherishes ?
Shall we be ashamed to be unlike the world, and like God in this
peculiar love for captive Israel ?

But you say God has cast them off. Hath God cast away his
people which *he foreknew ? God forbid ! The whole Bible 'con-
tra iicts such an idea. Jer. xxxi., 20, " Is Ephraim my dear son ?
is he a pleasant child ? for since 1 spake against him, I do earnestly
remember him still. Therefore my bowels are troubled fur him
I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." " I will plan!

SERMON XXV 143

them again in their own land assuredly, with my whole heart and
with my whole soul." '• Zion saith, the Lord hath forsaken me,
and my Ltfrd hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her suck-
ing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her
womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." — Isaiah
xlix., 14. '• And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There
shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodli-
ness from Jacob." Now the simple question for each of you is,
and for our beloved Church, Should we not share with God in his
peculiar affection for Israel ? If we are filled with the Spirit ot
God, should we not love as he loves ? Should we not grave Is-
rael upon the palms of our hands, and resolve that through our
mercy they also may obtain mercy.

3. Because there is peculiar access to the Jews. — In almost all
the countries we have visited this fact is quite remarkable ; in-
deed it seems in many places as if the only door left open to the
Christian missionary is the door of preaching to the Jews.

We spent some time in Tuscany, the freest state in the whole
of Italy. There you dare not preach the Gospel to the Roman
Catholic population. The moment you give a tract or a Bible, it
is carried to the priest, and by the priest to the Government, and
immediate banishment is the certain result. But the door is open
to the Jews. No man cares for their souls; and therefore you
may carry the Gospel to them freely.

The same is the case in Egypt and Palestine. — You dare not
preach the Gospel to the deluded followers of Mahomet; but you
may stand in the open market place and preach the Gospel to the
Jews, no man forbidding you. We visited every town in the
Holy Land where Jews are found. In Jerusalem and in Hebron
we spoke to them all the words of this life. In Sychar we rea-
soned with them in the synagogue, and in the open bazaar. In
Chaifa, at the foot of Carmel, we met with them in the synagogue.
In Sidon also we discoursed freely to them of Jesus. In Tyre
we first visited them in the synagogue and at the house of the
Rabbi, and then they returned our visit ; for when we had lain
down in the khan for the heat of mid-day, they came to us in
crowds. The Hebrew Bible was produced, and passage after
passage explained, none making us afraid. In Saphet, and Tibe-
rias, and Acre, we had the like freedom. There is indeed perfect
liberty in the Holy Land to carry the Gospel to the Jew.

In Constantinople, if you were to preach to the Turks, as some
have tried, banishment is the consequence; but to the Jew you may
carry the message. In WaWtchia and Moldavia the smallest at-
u.-mpt to convert a Greek would drawdown the instant vengeance
of the holy Synod and of the Government. But in every to\vn
wo went freely to the Jews — in Bucarest, in Foxany, in Jassy
and in many a remote Wallachian hamlet, we spoke without hin
drance the message to Israel. The door is wide open.

144 SERMON xxv.

Iii Austria, \\here no missionary of any kind is allowed, stil.
we found the Jews willing to hear. In their synagogues we
always found a sanctuary open to us, and often when* they knew
tlu-y could have exposed us, they concealed that we had been
there.

In Prussian Poland, the door is wide open to nearly 100 000
Jews. You dare not preach to the poor Rationalist Protestants.
Even in Protestant Prussia this would not be allowed ; but you
may preach the Gospel to the Jews. By the law of the land
every church is open to an ordained minister ; and one of the
missionaries assured me that he often preached to 400 or 500
Jews and Jewesses at a time. Schools for Jewish children are'
also allowed. We visited three of them, and heard the children
taught the way of salvation by a Redeemer. Twelve years ago
the Jews would not have come near a church.

If these things be true, and I appeal to all of you who know
these countries if it is not ; if the door in one direction is shut,
and the door to Israel is so widely open ; O do you not think that
God is saying by his Providence as well as by his Word, Go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel ? Do you think
that our Church, knowing these things, will be guiltless if we do
not obey the call? for the Gospel is the power of God unto salva-
tion, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

4. Because they will give life to the dead world. — I have often
thought that a reflective traveller, passing through the countries
of this world, and observing the race of Israel in every land,
might be led to guess, merely from the light of his natural reason,
that that singular people are preserved for some great purpose in
the world. There is a singular fitness in the Jew to be the mis-
sionary of the world. They have not that peculiar attachment
to home and country which we have. They feei that they are
outcasts in every land. They are also inured to every clime ;
they are to be found amid the snows of Russia and beneath the
burning sun of Hindostun. They are also in some measure ac
quainted with all the languages of the world, and yet have one
common language — the holy trngue — in which to communicate
with one another. All these things must, I should think, suggest
themselves to every intelligent traveller as he passes through
other lands. But what says the Word of God?

Zechariah viii., 13. — " It shall come to pass, that as ye were a
curse among the heathen, O h^tise of Judah and house of Israel ;
so will I save you, and he shall be a blessing." To this day they
are a curse among the nations, by their unoelief ; by their covet-
ousness ; but the time is coming when they shall be as great a
blessing as they have been a curse.

Micah v., 7. — " And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst
of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the
grass, tha' tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.'

SERMON XXV. 145

Just as we have found, among the parched hills of Jadah, that the
evening dew, coming silently down, gave life to every plant,
making the grass to spring, and the flowers to put forth their
sweetest fragrance, so shall converted Israel be when they come
as dew upon a dead dry world. *

Zech. viii., 23. — " In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men
shall take hold, out of all languages of the nations, even shall take
hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you;
for we have heard that God is with you." This never has been
fulfilled ; but as the Word of God is true, this is true. Perhaps
some one may say. If the Jews are to be the great missionaries of
the world, let us s>%nd missions to them only. We have got a new
light — let us call back our missionaries from India. They are
wasting their precious lives there in doing what the Jews are to
accomplish. I grieve to think that any lover of Israel should so
far pervert the truth, as to argue in this way. The Bible does not
say that we are to preach only to the Jew, but to the Jew j?rsf.
" Go and preach the gospel to all nations," said the Saviour. Let
us obey his Word like little children. The Lord speed our beloved
missionaries in that burning clime. The Lord give them good
success, and never let one withering doubt cross their pure minds
as to their glorious field of labor. All that we plead for is, that, in
sending our missionaries to the heathen, we may not forget to
begin at Jerusalem. If Paul be sent to the Gentiles, let Peter be
sent to the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad ; and let not a
by-corner in your hearts be given to this cause — let it not be an
appendix to the other doings of our Church, but rather let there be
written on the very front of your hearts, and on the banner of
our beloved Church, " To the Jew first," and " Beginning at
Jerusalem."

Lastly, Because there is a great reward. Blessed is he that
blesseth thee ; cursed is he that curseth thee. Pray for the peace
of Jerusalem ; they shall prosper that love her. We have felt
this in our own souls. In going from country to country, we felt
that there was one before us preparing our way. Though we
have had perils in the waters and perils in the wilderness, perils
from sickness, and perils from the heathen, still from all the Lord
has delivered us ; and if it shall please God to restore our revered
companions in this mission, in peace and safety to their anxious
families,* we shall then have good reason to say, that in keeping
his commandment there is great reward.

But your souls shall be enriched also, and our Church, too, if
this cause find its right place in your affections. It was well said
by one who has a deep place in your affections, and who is now
on his way to India, that our Church must not only be evangelical,
but evangelistic also, if she would expect the blessing of God. She

• Drs. Black and Keith were at this time still detained by sickness abroad
10

146 SERMON XXVI.

must not only have the light, but dispense it also, if she is to be
continued as a steward of God. May I not take the liberty of add-
ing to this striking declaration, that we must not only be evange
listic, but evangelistic as God would have us to be-~nol only dis-
pense the light on every hand, but dispense it first to the Jew.

Then shall God revive his work in the midst of the years.
Our whole land shall be refreshed as Kilsyth has been. The
cobwebs of controversy shall be swept out of our sanctuaries, the
jarrings and jealousies of our Church be turned into the harmony
of praise, and our own souls become like a well-watered garden

SERMON XXVI.

" BLESSED ARE THE DEAD."*

1 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth Yea, saith the
Spirit, that they may rest from their labors : and their works do follow them." —
Rev. xiv, 13

THERE are two remarkable things in the manner in which these
words are given to us.

I. They are the words of the Father echoed back by the Spirit. —
" I heard a voice from heaven." " Yea, saith the Spirit." John's
eye had been riveted upon the wondrous sight mentioned in
verse 1. A Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and one hundred and
forty-four thousand redeemed ones following him whithersoever
he goeth, when suddenly a still small voice broke upon his ear,
saying, " Write, blessed are the dead ;" and then the Holy Spirit
breathed Amen, " Yea, saith the Spirit."

It is written in the law that the testimony of two witnesses is
true. Now here are two witnesses — the Father of all and the
Holy Spirit the Comforter, both testifying, that it is a happy thing
to die in the Lord. Is there any of you, God's children, who
tremble at the thought of dying? Does death appear a monster
with a dreadful dart, ready to destroy you? Here are two sweet
and blessed witnesses who declare that death has lost its sting —
that the grave has lost its victory. Listen, and the frown will
disappear from the brow of death : the valley will be filled with
light ; the Father and the Holy Spirit both unite in saying,
" Blessed are the dead."

II. " Write" — Whatever is written down is more durable, and
lesf liable to be corrupted, than that which is only spcken from

• Preached in the summer of 1840

SERMON XXVI. 14

mouth to mouth. For this reason God gave the Israelites the Ten
Commandments, written with his own finger on two tables of
stone. For the same reason he commanded them, on the day they
passed over Jordan, to set up great stones, and plaster them with
plaster, and write upon them all the words of that law. For the
same reason, God commanded his servants, the prophets, to write
their prophecies, and the apostles to write their gospels and
epistles, so that we have a permanent Bible instead of floating
tradition. For this reason, did Job wish his words to be written.
" O that my words were written ! O that they were printed in a
book ! That they were graven with an iron pen, and with lead in
the rock for ever ! I know that my Redeemer liveth." Job. xix..
25. It was one of his precious, ever memorable sayings, a saying
to comfort the heart of a drooping believer in the darkest hour —
" I know that my Redeemer liveth" For the same reason did the
voice from heaven say, " write" — do not hear it only but write it
— print it in a book, grave it with an iron pen, with lead in the
rock for ever.

" Blessed are the dead." Learn the value of this saying. It is
a golden saying, there is gold in every syllable of it. it is sweeter
than honey and the honeycomb ; more precious than gold, yea,
much fine gold. It is precious in the eyes of God. Write it deep
in your hearts ; it will solemnize your life, and will keep you from
being led away by its vain show. It will make the syren songs
of this world inconvenient, and out of tune ; it will sweetly soothe
you in the hour of adversity ; it will rob deatfi of its sting, and the
grave of its victory. Write, write deep on your heart, " Blessed
are the dead which die in the Lord."

Now, consider the words themselves.

1. Blessed are the dead" — The world say, " Blessed are the
living ;" but God says, " Blessed are the dead." The world judge
of things by sense, as they outwardly appear to men ; God judges
of things by what they really are in themselves ; he looks at things
in their real color and magnitude. The world say, " Better is a
living dog than a c:ead lion." The world look upon some of their
families, coming out like a fresh blooming flower in the morning,
their cheeks covered with the bloom of health, their step bounding
with the elasticity of youth, riches and luxuries at their command,
long, bright summer days before them. The world say, " There
is a happy soul." God takes us into the darkened room where
some child of God lately dwelt. He points to the pale face where
death sits enthroned, the cheek wasted by long disease, the eye
glazed in death, the stiff hands clasped over the bosom, the friends
standing weeping around, and he whispers in our ears, " Blessed
are the dead." Ah, dear friends, think a moment ! whether does
God or you know best ? Who will be found to be in the right at
last? Alas, what a vain show you are walking in ! Disquieted
in vain. " Man that is in honor and understandeth not, is like the

148 SERMON XXVI.

beasts that perish." Even God's children sometimes sav
" Blessed are the living." It is a happy thing to live in the favoi
of God, to have peace with God, to frequent the throne of grace,
to burn the perpetual incense of praise, to meditate on his word,
to hear the preached gospel, to serve God ; even to wrestle, and
.run. and fiirht in his service is sweet. Still God says, " Blessed
are the dead." If it be happy to have his smile here, how much
happier to have it without a cloud yonder ! If it be sweet to be
tlu- growing corn of the Lord here, how much better to be gathered
into his barn ! If it be sweet to have an anchor within the veil,
how much better ourselves to be there, where no gloom can come !
" In thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy right hand are pleasures
for evermore." Even Jesus felt this — God attests it. " Blessed
are the dead"

1. Not all the dead, but those that "die in the Lord.9' It is
truly amazing the multitudes that die. " Thou earnest them away
as with a flood." Seventy thousand die every day, about fifty
ev(jry minute, nearly one every second, passing over the verge.
Life is like a stream made up of human beings, pouring on, and
rushing over the brink into eternity. Are all these blessed ? Ah,
no. " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Of all that vast
multitude continually pouring into the eternal world, a little com-
pany alone have savingly believed on Jesus. " Strait is the gate
and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it." It is not all the dead who are blessed. There is no
blessing on the Christless dead ; they rush into an undone eternity,
tmpardoned, unholy. You may put their body in a splendid
coffin; you may print their name in silver on the lid ; you may
bring th<? well-attired company of mourners to the funeral in suits
of solemn black ; you may lay the coffin slowly in the grave ; you
may spread the greenest sod above it ; you may train the sweet-
est flowers to grow over it ; you may cut a white stone, and grave
a gentle epitaph to their memory; still it is but the funeral of a
damned soul. You cannot write blessed where God hath written
" cursed" " He that believeth shall be saved ; he that believeth not
shall be damned."

Consider what is 'mplied in the words, " in the Lord."
J. That they were joined to the Lord. — Union to the Lord has
a beginning. Every one that is blessed in dying has been con-
verted. You may dislike the Word, but that is the truth. They
were awakened ; began to weep, pray, weep as they went to seek
the Lord their God. They saw themselves lost, undone, helpless ;
that they could not be just with a holy God. They became
babes. The Lord Jesus drew near, and revealed himself. " I
am the bread of Life." " Him that cometh unto me I will in no-
wise cast out." They believed and were happy ; rejoiced in the
Lord Jesus ; counted everything but loss for Christ. They gave

SERMON XXVI.

themselves to the Lord. This was the beginning of their being
MI Christ.

Dear friends, have you had this beginning ? Have you under-
gone conversion, the new birth, grafting into Christ ? Call it by
any name you will, have you the thing? Has this union to Christ
taken place in your history ? Some say, I do not know. If at
any time of your life you had been saved from drowning, if you
were actually drowned and brought to life again, you would
remember it to your dying hour. Much more if you had been
brought to Christ. If you had been born blind, and by some
remarkable operation your eyes were opened when you were full
grown, would you ever forget it ? So if you have been truly
brought into Christ, you may easily remember it. If not, you
will die in your sins. Whither Christ has gone, thither you cannot
come. " Except ye repent and be converted, ye shall all likewise
perish."

2. Perseverance is implied. — Not all that seem to be branches
are branches of the true vine. Many branches fall off the trees
when the high winds begin to blow ; all that are rotten branches.
So in times of temptation, or trial, or persecution, many false
professors drop away. Many that seemed to be believers went
back, and walked no more with Jesus. They followed Jesus ; they
prayed with him; they praised him, but they went back, and
walked no more with him. So is it still. Many among us doubt-
less seem to be converted, they begin well and promise fair, who
will fall off when winter comes. Some have fallen off, I fear,
already ; some more may be expected to follow. These will not
be blessed in dying. O of all death beds, may I be kept from
beholding the death-bed of the false professor ! I have seen it
before now, and I trust I may never see it again. They are not
blessed after death. The rotten branches will burn more fiercely
;n the flames. O think what torment it will be to think that you
spent your life in pretending to be a Christian, and lost your
opportunity of becoming one indeed ! Your hell will be all the
deeper, blacker, hotter, that you knew so much of Christ, and
were so near him, and found him not. Happy are they who
endure to the end, who are not moved away from their hope of
the gospel, who, when others go away, say, Lord, to whom can
we go ? In prosperity, they follow the Lord fully ; in adversity,
they cleave to him closer still, as trees strike their roots deeper in
storms. Is this your case? endure it to the end. Be not moved
away from the hope of the gospel ; Coloss. i., 23. We arc made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast unto the end ; Heb. iii., 15. Even in the dark valley you
will cling to him still. Come to him as ye came at first, a guilty
creature, clinging to the Lord our Righteousness. Thou wast
made my sin. This is to die in the Lord, and this is to be blessed.

150 SERMON XXVi.

I1J Reasons why they are bl:ssed.

1. Because of the time, "From henceforth." The time of the
persecutions of Popery \v;is coming on. He was to wear out the
saints of the Most High ; he was to overcome and slay the follow
ers of the Lamb. Happy are they that are taken from the evil t.c
come. The righteous perish and no man layeth it to heart.
Merciful men are taken away, none considering that he is taken
away from the evil to come. This is one reason why it is better
to be with Christ. Persecutions and troubles are not easy to flesh
and blood. If in our day we be called to them, we must beai
them boldly, knowing that a good reward is provided for those
that overcome ; see Rev. ii., 3. " And hast borne, and hast
patience, and for my name's sake hast labored and hast not faint-
ed." But if it be the will of God to call us away before the day
of trial come, we must say, "Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord from henceforth." There will be no persecutions there
All are friends to Jesus there, every one contending who shall
cast their crowns lowest at his feet, who shall exalt him highest in
their praise. No discord there. None to rebuke our song there.

2. They rest from their labors. — That which makes everything
laborious here is sin; the opposition of Satan and the world, and
the drag of our old nature. Some believers have a constant
struggle with Satan. He is standing at their r.ght hand to resist
them; he is constantly distracting them in prayer, hurling fiery
darts at their soul, tempting to the most horrid S'n. Their whole
life is labor. But when we die in the Lord, we shall rest tivrn
this labor. Satan's work will be clean done. The accuser of the
brethren will no more annoy. No lion shall be there, ne.thei
shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, but the redeemed shall
walk thewe. But above all, the wicked heart, the old man. the
body of sin, makes this life a dreadful labor. When we wake in
the morning, it lies like a weight upon us. When we would run
in the way of God's commandments, it drags us back. When we
would fly, it weighs us down. When we would pray, it fills our
mouth with other things. "O wretched man that I am." But to
depart and be with Christ, is to be free from this. We shall drop
this body of sin altogether. No more any flesh, all spirit, all new
man ; no more any weight or drag ; we shall rest from our labors.
Oh, it is this makes death in the Lord blessed. We shall not rest
from all work ; we shall be as the angels of God ; we shall serve
him day and night in his temple. We shall not rest from our
work, but from our labors. There will be no toil, no pain, in our
work. We shall rest in our work. Oh, let this make you willing
to depart, and make death look pleasant, and heaven a home.
" We shall rest from our labors." It is the world of holy love,
where we shall give free, full, unfettered, unwearied expression to
our love for ever*."

3. Works Jillow. — Our good works done in the name of Jesus

ADDRESS 151

shall then be rewarded. 1st, Observe, they shall not go before
the soul. It is not on account of them we shall be accepted. We
must be accepted first altogether on account of him in whom we
stand. 2d, Our evil works shall be forgotten, buried in the depths
of the sea, forgotten, not more mentioned. 3d, All that we have
done out of love to Jesus shall then be rewarded. We may forget
them, and say to Jesus, " When saw we thee sick or in prison, and
came unto thee ?" But he will not forget them : " Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me." A cup of cold water shall not go unrewarded.
Look to the recompense of reward, dear friends, and it will take
the sting from death.

IV. What followed. — The Lord Jesus "put in his sickle and
reaped." See verses 14, 15.

1. Learn that the Lord Jesus gathers his sheaves before a
storm, just as farmers do ; so when you see him gathering ripe
saints, be sure that a storm is near.

2. Learn that Jesus gathers his saints in love. When Jesus
gathers his own, he does it in love. Do not mourn for them as
those who have no hope. Jesus has gathered them into his
bosom. They shall shine as the sun.

ADDRESS

ON THE CLOSE OF A COMMUNION SABBATH.

" What have I to do any more with idols ?" — Hosea xiv., 8.

EVERY one who has been truly united to Christ, and has this day
confessed him before men, should now take up these words, and
solemnly, in the presence of God, declare, '« What have I to do
any more with idols?" Two reasons are given.

I. Verse 4. — God loves you freely. — If you are this day come
to Jesus, God loves you freely. If you believe on him that justi-
fieth the ungodly, your faith is counted for righteousness. As
long as you came to God in yourself, you were infinitely vile,
loathsome, condemned ; mountains of iniquity covered your soul ;
but blessed, blessed, blessed be the Holy Spirit who has led you
to Jesus. You have come to God's righteous servant, who by his
knowledge justifies many, because he bears their iniquities. Your
sins are covered, God sees no iniquity in you ; God loves you
freely, his anger is turned away from you. What have you to do
then anv more with idols? Is not the love of God enomrh for

152 ADDRESS.

thee ? The loving and much loved wife is satisfied with the lov«
of her husband ; his smile is her joy, she cares little for any other.
So, if you have come to Christ, thy Maker is thine husband ; his
free love to you is all you need, and all you can care for ; there is
no cloud between you and God ; there is no veil between you and
the Father ; you have access to him who is the fountain of hap-
piness, of peace, of holiness ; what have you to do any more with
idols ? Oh ! if your heart swims in the rays of God's love, like a
little mote swimming in the sunbeam, you will have no room in
your heart for idols.

II. The Spirit, like dew, descends on your souls. — Verse 5, " I
will be like the dew." If you are this day united to Jesus, the
Spirit will come like dew upon your soul. The Spirit is given to
them that obey Jesus, " I will pray the Father." When all nature
is at rest, not a leaf moving, then at evening the clew comes
down, no eye to see the pearly drops descending, no ear to hear
them falling on the verdant grass, so does the Spirit come to you
who believe. When the heart is at rest in Jesus, unseen, unheard
by the world, the Spirit comes, and softly fills the believing soul,
quickening all, renewing all within. '• If I go away I will send
him unto you." Dear little ones, whom God hath chosen out of
this world, you are like Gideon's fleece, the Lord will fill you
with dew when all around is dry. You are his vineyard of red
wine ; he says, I will water it every moment, silently, unfelt, un-
seen, but surely. But, ah ! that Spirit is a holy Spirit. " I the
Lord thy God am a jealous God." He cannot bear an idol in his
temple. When the ark of God was carried into the temple of
Dagon, the idol fell flat before it ; much more when the Holy
Spirit comes into the heart will he cast out the idols.

" When Christ came into the temple, he found those that sold
oxen, and 'sheep, and doves, and the changers of money, sitting ;
and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all
out of the temple." John ii., 15. So when the Holy Spirit comes
into any heart, he drives out the buyers and sellers. If you have
received the Spirit, you will be crying now in your heart, Lord,
take these things hence ; drive them out of my h^art. What
have I to do any more with idols ? Some of the idds to be cast
away are.

1. Self -righteousness. — This is the largest idol of the human
heart, the idol which man loves most and God hates most. Dear-
ly beloved, you will always be going back to this idol. You are
always trying to be something in yourself, to gain God's favor by
thinking little of your sin, or by looking to your repentance, tears,
prayers ; or by looking to your religious exercises, your frames,
&c. ; or by looking to your graces, the Spirit's work in your heart.
Beware of false Christs. Study sanctification to the utmost, but
make not a Christ of it. God h'ates this idol more than all others

ADDRESS 153

becauoe it comc-s in the place of Christ ; it sits on Christ's throne.
Jusl '*s the woiship of the Virgin Mary is the worst of ail kinds
of idolatry, because it puts her in the place of Christ, so self-right-
eousness is the idol God hates most, for it sits on the throne of
Christ. Dash it down, dear friends; let it never appear airain.
It <s like Manasseh's carved image in the holiest of all. When
Manasseh came home an altered man to Jerusalem, would not hia
first visit be to the holiest of all? With eager hand he would
draw the veil aside ; and when he found the carved image, he
would dash it down from the throne of God. Go and do likewise.
If you feel God's love freely by the righteousness without works,
then why would you go back to this grim idol ? What have I to
do any more with idols ?

2. fjyrling Sins. — Every man has his darling sins. Long they
kept yr.u from the Lord Jesus. You have this day declared that
you were willing to leave them all for Christ. Go home, then,
-%nd perform your vows. After Hezekiah's passover, when they
ngd enjoyed much of the love and spirit of God, " All Israel that
nere present went home, and broke the images in pieces, and cut
•*own the groves, until they had utterly destroyed them all."
Vou might have seen them entering the shady groves and dash-
ng down the carved images. Go you and do likewise. Dash
lown family idols, unholy practices that have spread through your
family. Dash down secret idols in your own heart. Leave not
one. Remember, one Achan in the camp troubled Israel, and
they were smitten before their enemies. So, one idol left in your
heart may trouble you. Let Achan be slain if you would go on
your way rejoicing. What have I to do any more with idols ?
" If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off."

3. Unlawful attachments. — There is not a more fruitful source
of sin and misery than unlawful attachments. How much of the
poetry and music of our country are given over to the 'worship of
the idols of a foolish heart ! How many are given over to wor-
ship a piece of clay that will soon be eaten of worms ! O my
friends, have you felt the love of God ? Do you feel the sweet,
full beams of his grace shining down upon your soul ? Have you
received the dew of his Spirit? How can you, then, any more
love a creature that is void of the grace of God? What hive
you to do any more with idols ? Dear young persons, abhor the
idea of marriage with the unconverted. Be not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers. Marry only in the Lord. Remember,
if it be otherwise, it is a forbidden marriage. There may be none
on earth so kind or faithful as to forbid the banns. Earthly friends
may be kind and smiling; the marriage circle may be gay and
lovely : but God forbids the banns. But may there not be a law-
ful attachment ? I believe there may ; but take heed it be not an
idol. I believe they are happiest who are living only for eternity,
who have no object in this world to divert their hearts from Christ.

154 ADDRESS.

" The time is short ; it remaineth that they who have wives be as
though they had none." " What have I to do any more with
idols ?"

4. Ministers. — You have good reason to love ministers, and to
esteem them highly for their works' sake. They love you ; they
watch for your souls as they that must give an account ; they bear
you on their hearts ; they travail in birth till Christ be formed in
you ; they spend and are spent for you ; they often endure amaz
ing temptations, agonies, wrestlings, for your sake.

Some have been your spiritual fathers. This is a holy tie that
will never be broken. You have good reason to love your spiri-,
tuaJ father. You may have ten thousand instructors in Christ,
&c. ; but ah ! make not an idol of them. The people that would
have worshipped Paul, were the very people that stoned him, and
left him for dead. O I wish that this day may bring you so near
to Christ, and so much under the love of God and the dew of Israel,
that you shall no more glory in man ! What have I to do any
more with idols ?

5. Earthly pleasures. — This is a smiling, dazzling idol, that has
ten thousand worshippers, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of
God. What have you to do any more with this idol ? Some-
times it is a gross idol. The theatre is one of its temples, there it
sits enthroned. The tavern is another, where its reeling, stagger-
ing votaries sing its praise. What have you to do with these ?
Have you the love of God in your soul, the Spirit of God in you?
How dare you cross the threshold of a theatre or a tavern any
more ? What ! the Spirit of God amid the wanton songs of a
theatre, or the boisterous merriment of a tavern ! Shame on such
practical blasphemy ! No ; leave them, dear friends, to be cages
of devils and of every unclean and hateful bird. You must never
cross their threshold any more. What shall I say of games, cards,
dice, dancing? I will only say this, that if you love them you
have never tasted the joys of the new creature. If you feel the
love of God and the Spirit, you will not lightly sin these joys
away amid the vain anxieties of cards, or the rattling of senseless
dice. What shall I say of simpering tea-parties, the pleasures of
religious gossipping, and useless calls, without meaning, sincerity,
or end ? I will only say, they are the happiest of God's children
who have neither time nor heart for these things. I believe there
cannot be much of the Spirit where there is much of these. What
sh:ill I say of dress? A young believer, full of faith and joy, was
offered a present of flowers for her hair. She would not take
them. She was pressed to accept them ; still she refused. Why
will you not ? Ah, she said, how can I wear roses on my brow,
when Christ wore thorns on his ? The joy of being in Christ is
•p sweet, that it makes all other joys insipid, dull, lifeless. In his
right hand are riches and honors ; in his left are length of days.

ADDRESS. I5a

His ways are ways of pleasantness. What, then, have I to do any
more with idols?

6. Money. — Dear souls, if you have felt the love of God, the
dew, you must dash down this idol. You must not love money.
You must be more open-hearted, more open-handed. To the poor
— " He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord." " Inasmuch as
ye did it to the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me."
You must build more churches. God be praised for what has been
done ; but you must do far more. I have as many in this parish
who go nowhere as would' fill another church. You must give
more to missions, to send the knowledge of Jesus to the Jews, and
to the Gentile world. O how can you grasp your money in hand
so greedily, while there are hundreds of millions perishing? You
that give tens must give your hundreds. You that are poor must
do what you can. Remember Mary, and the widow's mite. Let
us resolve to give the tenth of all we have to God. God is able
to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always having all-
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

7. Fear of man. — Grim idol, bloody mouthed ; many souls he
has devoured and trampled down into hell ! His eyes are full of
hatred to Christ's disciples. Scoffs and jeers lurk in his eye. The
laugh of the scorner growls in his throat. Cast down this idol
This keeps some of you from secret prayer, from worshipping
God in your family, from going to lay your case before ministers,
from openly confessing Christ. You that have felt God's love and
Spirit, dash this idol to pieces. Who art thou, that thou shouldst
be afraid of a man that shall die? Fear not, thou worm Jacob.
What have I to do any more with idols ?

Dearly-beloved and longed-for, my heart's desire for you is, to
sec you a holy people. How much longer my ministry may be
continued among you God only knows ; but if God give me health
and grace among you, I here willingly devote my all to him. No
moment, no pleasure, no ease, no wealth, do I wish for myself. I
feel that he has bought me, and I am his property. O come, give
yourselves to the Lord with me. Bind yourselves to the horns ot
God's altar. Time past is enough to have been the devil's, the
world's, our own. Now, let us be Christ's alone. Are you wil-
ling ? Lord, bear witness ; seal it in heaven ; write it in thy
book. Bear witness, angels, devils, scowling world, bear witness,
sun and moon, bear witness, stones and timber, bear witness, Jesus,
Lamb of God ! We are thine now, and thine for ever. What
have we to do any more with idols ?

'25th Oct., 1840.

156 ADDRESS.

ADDRESS.

AFTER THE COMMUNION.

" But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in th«
Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life "— Jude 20-21.

I. Those that have been built on Christ have need to build them-
selves still more on Christ. — If you come rightly to this table, you
have been hewn out of the rock, and carried, and laid on the sure
foundation. Others set at naught that stone, but to you it is the
only name under heaven. You have been built on Christ alone
for righteousness. Think not all is done, forget what is behind.
You have begun salvation, work out your salvation.

1. Build yourselves more simply on Christ, on Christ alone, his
blood and righteousness. Some are like a stone resting half on
the foundation and half on the sand. Some take half their peace
from Christ's finished work, and half from the Spirit's work within
them. Now the whole of our justification must be from Christ
alone. Other foundation can no man lay.

2. Build yourselves more surely on Christ. Some stones do not
lie smoothly on the foundation, they are apt to totter. Seek, bre-
thren, to get a sure founding on the Lord Jesus Christ. " If ye
continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away
from the hope of the gospel." It is easy to sail with a gentle sea
and the wind in the west, but the gale tries whether the ship be
rightly balanced. It is easy to believe in a sunny day like this,
when broken bread and poured out wine have been in your hands;
but slop till you are in the wilderness, or afar at sea alone, stop
till fresh guilt lies on the conscience, stop till a strong temptation
blows ; O then to rely on Christ alone for righteousness ! Under
a sight of sin, Satan grappling with the soul ; O then to look up
into the face of Christ and say, Thou art my robe, my righteous-
ness, my shield, thy blood, thy obedience is enough for me ! this
is to believe.

II. Pray in the Holy Ghost. — When a believer prays he is not
alone, there are three with him, the Father seeing in secret, his ear
open ; the Son blotting out sin, and offering up the prayer ; the
Holy Ghost quickening and giving desires. There ca"n be no true
prayer without these three. Some people pray like a parrot, re-
peating words when the heart is far from God. Some pray with-
out the Father. They do not feel. They are speaking to the back
of their chair, or to the world, or to the empty air. Some pray
without the Son. They come in their own name ; in their own
righteousness That is the sacrifice of fools. Some pray with-
out the Holy Ghost. These are not filled with divine breath-
ings. Dear friends, if you would live, you must pray ; and if you

ADDRESS. 157

would pray with acceptance, you must pray to the Father in the
name of Jesus, and by his Spirit quickening.

1. Get the Holy Ghost. — Many seem not to know if there be a
Holy Spirit. Jesus being raised by the Father, has obtained the
Spirit. Ask him.

2. Let him breathe within you. Do not vex him.

3. Pray without ceasing. — Whatever you need, ask him imme-
diately. • Have set times of approaching God solemnly Let
nothing interfere with these times. Take your best time.

III. Keep yourselves in tlie love of God. — It is when you are
built on Christ, and praying in the Holy Ghost, that you keep
yourselves in the love of God. There is one glorious Being whom
God loves infinitely. " I am not alone, for the Father is with me."
He loved him from eternity, for the pure, spotless image of him-
self. He loved him for laying down his life. He is well pleased
for his righteousness' sake. The eye of the all-perfect One rests
with perfect complacency on him. Have you this day come into
Christ — this day come under his shield — are this day found in
him ? If you are in the love of God, keep yourselves there.

1. Care not for the love of the world. — If you were of the world,
the world would love its own. Its best smiles are little worth.'
The world is a dying thing — a crucified man to them that are in
Christ.

2. Prize the love of God. — Oh it is sweet to be in the garden
of spices — to have God for your refuge — God rejoicing over you.
1st, This takes all the sting away from affliction. God is love to
me. The hand that wounds is the gentlest and most loving.
2d, This takes their sting from the world's reproaches. 3d, This
makfs death sweet. It is a leap into the arms of infinite love,
though to some a leap into a dark eternity. O keep yourselves in
the love of God.

IV. Looking for mercy. — You will be incomplete Christians if
you do not look for the coming again of the Lord Jesus. If the
Table has been sweet to-day, what will it be when Jesus comes
again to receive us to himself ? If his love-letters and love-tokens,
sent from a far country, be so sweet, what will the Bridegroom
himself be when he comes and takes us by the hand to present us
to himself, and acknowledge us before an assembled world ?

1. You will gel an open acquittal on that day. — Now he gives
us sweet acquittal at the bar of conscience : he says, " Peace be
unto you." But when it is open, we shall wear the blood-washed
robe. It will need to Be mercy even at that day.

2. Perfect deliverance from sin. — Now he gives us the victory
by faith. He gives us to feel the thorn, and to look up for grace
sufficient. Then he will take the thorn away. We shall be like
Jesus in soul and body. O be casting sweet looks of love towardi

158 SERMON XXVII.

that day. When a child is expecting an elder brother's return
when he is to bring some gift, how often he runs to the windovf
and watches for his coming. Your elder brother is coming with
a sweet gift. O cast your eye often towards the clouds, to see if
they will break and let his beautiful feet through ! Shorten }he
time by anticipation.

3. Jesus no more dishonored. — Honor to the Lamb is a sweet
mercy to a believing soul. A high day like this, when Jesus gets
many a crown cast at his feet, is sweet to a believing soul. How
much more the day when we shall wear his full crown, and when
the slain lamb shall be fully praised ; and when he shall come to
be glorified, who once came to be spit upon. That truly shall be
mercy to our poor soul. Our cup shall run over.

3d January, 1841.

SERMON XXVII.

TURN YOU AT MY REPROOF.

M Wisdom crieth without ; she uttereth her voice in the streets : she crieth in the
chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates : in the city she uttereth
her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity ? and the
ecorners, delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge ? Turn you at my
reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my
words unto you." — Prov. i., 20-23.

THAT none other than our Lord Jesus Christ is intended to be
minted to us under the majestic figure of Wisdom in the Book of
Proverbs, is evident from the passage before us. Of whom but
the Saviour could it be said so truly that he stood with outstretch-
ed hands in the streets, in the markets, and in the openings of the
gates, crying after the simple ones — the publicans and sinners ;
and the scorners — the Scribes and Pharisees ; and those haters of
knowledge — the Jewish priesthood ? And again, of whom but
the Saviour could it be said, with any truth at all, that he offered
to " pour out his Spirit upon the returning sinner, and to make
known his words unto him ?" Christ alone " hath ascended up on
high, leading captivity captive ; and hath received gifts for men,
yea, even for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among
them."

Before pressing home upon you, brethren, this earnest and soul-
piercing call of the Saviour, there are two explanations which I
anxiously desire you to bear in mind — First, That the call of the
Saviour, in the words before us, and the promise with which it is
accompanied, are addressed to sinners, and not to saints. Nay
more, they are not addressed to all sinners promiscuously ; they

sriuioN xxvn 159

are not addressed to those who have been awakened to know their
sin and danger, and are crying out, " Men and brethren, what
ghall we do?" but they are addressed to the simple ones, who are
loving their simplicity — to the scorners, who delight in their scorn-
ing— to the fools, that hate knowledge. The Bible is full of most
precious promises to Christ's " hidden ones," his peculiar people,
his body, his bride ; and there are many pressing calls and most
winning encouragements to those in whom God hath begun the
good work by convincing them of sin. But the words before us
belong to neither of these ; they are addressed to those who are
lead in trespasses and sins ; to those who are so much lost that
they do not know that they are lost ; to those who are happy and
comfortable in their sins ; to those who have not a doubt as to the
sufficiency of their worldly decency and respectability as a
righteousness before God, and who do not so much as move the
question whether they are saved or unsaved ; the simple ones loving
their simplicity, the scorners who delight in scorning, the fools who
hate knowledge.

Is there none of you who has a secret suspicion that he may be
iust one of these characters which we have described ? I would
beseech that man to feel that HE, then, is this day addressed by the
Saviour, not in the accents of wrath, but of tenderest kindness.
It is to you that Jesus stretches out these beseeching hands. It is
to you that Jesus speaks these gentle wowds. Oh ! how blinded
you are to the bowels and compassions of the Saviour. Oh ! how
you dishonor him every day by your hard and blasphemous
thoughts of him. You think that because you delight in going
away from him, therefore he hath nothing but messages of anger
and of coming judgment for you. But, oh ! how much wiser to
gather his thoughts toward you from his own words : " Turn you
at my reproof. Behold I will pour out, not judgment, but my Spirit
unto you, I will make known my words unto you."

My second explanation is, That the call of Christ is to an im-
mediate conversion. He doth not say : WHY will ye love your
simplicity ? but, " How long will ye love your simplicity ?" And
again, he doth not say, Turn at any time, and I will pour out my
Spirit unto you ; but, " Turn at my reproof ;" that is, Turn this
day while I am reproving you. Immediate turning unto God —
immediate application to the blood of Christ — immediate accept-
ance of the righteousness of God — a movement this day — conver-
sion this day — this, and nothing but this, is the doctrine of the text.
Let none of you say, I will take the gracious offer into considera-
tion— I will take up the question some day soon with all due de-
liberation— I will set apart some future day for the very purpose
of settling it. That man of you is as effectually casting a mockery
on the words of the Saviour, as if he were to say, I will have
neither part nor lot in this matter. It is not resolutions for the
future that Christ asks of you, and to which he attaches the pro.

160 SERMON xxvn.

misc of the Spirit : it is a turning this ilay — conversion this day,
whilst he is reproving you.

Having premised these things, it is now my desire to press
home upon you the call of the Saviour by means of three argu-
ments.

I. The call of the Saviour ought to be obeyed by you, because of
the rich promise with which it is seconded. — " Turn you at my re-
proof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make
known my words unto you."

Often in the Bible are sinners entreated to turn and believe on
Jesus, for the sake of the peace and the pardon to be found in be-
lieving ; but the argument here is a more rare, and perhaps a still
more moving one. Here you are besought to turn and believe,
that you may be made new creatures : " Turn you at my reproof:
behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you."

1. Think how essential such a change is to your well-being:
" Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
•' Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." To dwell in the
new heavens and the new earth, we must be made new creatures.
There will be exquisite scenery in heaven, when the pearly gates
of the New Jerusalem appear ; but a blind man could not enjoy
it. There will be exquisite melody in heaven, from the golden
harps of angels and the redeemed ; but a man without an ear for
music could not enjoy it. And just so there will be spotless holi-
ness in heaven — it will be the very atmosphere of heaven — how,
then, could an unholy soul enjoy it? " Marvel not that I said unto
you, Ye must be born again." But if this be an essential change —

2. Think how impossible it is with man. Search every sect
and system of philosophy, search every plan of education, search
from one end of the earth to the other, where will you find a power
to make you holy ?

" The depth saith, It is not in me :
And the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for gold,

Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pears :
For the price of Wisdom is above rubies."

A man may be able to change his sins, but, ah ! what man can
change his heart? The reason why this is utterly impossible with
man, is, that he is not only fond of the objects of sin, but he is fond
of his sinful heart ; he is not only simple, but he loves his sim-
plicity ; not only scornful, but delights in scorning ; not only a
fool, but he hates the very knowledge that would make him wise
unto salvation. Which of you, then, does not feel the power of
the Saviour's tenderness in ti e offer which he makes this day to
the most careless and unawakened of you all : " Turn you at my
reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you." If you will

SERMON XXVII. 101

only turn and accept of Christ this day, he offers to give you that
Spirit which alone can make you a new creature — which alone
can give you a heart that will do for heaven.

You utterly mistake the matter, if you think that Christ here
offers to put you under a system of strictness and restraint. Yon
utterly mistake the matter, if you think the gift of the Spirit is to
make you walk in ways of preciseness and of pain ; for the whole
Bible testifies that' the ways 'in which the Spirit leads us are ways
of pleasantness and peace. Suppose a man happened to be so
foolish and inconsiderate as to have an invincible relish for some
poisonous drug, because of the sweetness and agreeableness of
the taste ; and had formed the habit of making such constant use
of it that death would, through time, be the inevitable consequence.
I can imagine two ways in which the friends of that inconsiderate
man, anxious for his life, might cure him of his strange and most
destructive appetite. \st, They might forcibly restrain and keep
him away from the use of the poison, forbidding it even to be
brought within his sight. This would be the system of restric-
tion ; the appetite would remain, but it would be crossed and de-
nied. Or, %dly, Instead of forcibly taking away the poison, they
might bring new and wholesome objects before him, the taste of
which was far more agreeable and excellent ; so that, when
once he had tasted these, there would be no fear of his so much as
desiring the poison any more. A new taste has been introduced,
so that the drug which seemed sweet and agreeable before, seems
now no longer palatable. Now, though this parable be a very
imperfect one, yet it shows distinctly the one feature in sanctifica-
tion which I wish to bring into view, namely, its pleasantness.
The Spirit which Christ oners sanctifies us never in the first way,
but always in the second way ; not by restraining us, but by
making us new. By nature we love sin, the world and the things
of the world, though we know that the wages of sin is death.
Now to cure this I can imagine a man setting himself down
deliberately to cross all his corrupted passions, to restrain all his
appetites, to reject and trample on all the objects that the natural
heart is set upon. This is the very system recommended by Sa-
tan, by anti- Christ, and the world. But there is a far more excel-
lent way, which the Holy Ghost makes use of in sanctifying us ;
not the way of changing the objects, but the way of changing the
affections ; not by an external restraint, but by an internal renew-
ing. As it is said in Ezekiel : " A new heart also will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you an heart of nesh ;
and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them." AM
then, brethren, if there be one poor sinner here who has been de-
ceived by the detestable heresy of the world — as if the keeping
of the commandments by the saints were a grievous and unwilling

11

162 SEBMON XXVII.

service — let that man. this day, open his eyes to the true nature
of Gospel holiness— t'nat God does not offer to work in you to do
without first working in you to will He does not offer to pluck
from you your favorite oVjects ; but he offers to give you a new
taste for higher objects ; and just as the boy finds it no hardship to
cast away the toys and trifles that were his bosom friends in child-
hood, so the saint feels no hardship in casting away the wretched
playthings that so long amused and cheated the soul ; for behold a
new world hath been opened up by the Spirit of God, to the ad-
miring, enamored gaze of the believer in Jesus.

Behold, then, ye simple ones, that are loving your simplicity,
what an argument is here to move you to immediate conversion ;
to immediate acceptance of Jesus ! If you will only put on Christ,
behold he offers this day to begin the work of creating you anew ;
not of crossing and restraining you, and tying you down to services
which you loathe, but of giving you a taste and a delight in ob-
jects which angels, which every holy and happy being delights in.
" Turn you at my reproof."

II. The call of the Saviour to TURN NOW ought to be obeyed by
us, because conversion becomes every day harder. — There is no law
of our nature that works with a surer und more silent power than
the law of habit. That which at nrst we find the utmost difficulty
in accomplishing, becomes easier upon every trial, till habit be-
comes as it were, a second nature. Thus, in learning to read
how slow and how gradual is the progress made ! until, trained
by oft-repeated trial, the stammering tongue becomes the tongue
of grace and fluency. Nay, so easy does the art become, that we
at length forget to notice the very letters which compose the
words we read. Just similar is the growth of habit in sinning.
Depraved as is the natural heart, yet the ingenuous mind of youth
finds something painful and revolting in acquiring the first oath
which fashion or companionship obliges him to learn. The loose
jest and the irreligious sneer, will generally summon up the blush
of indignation in the cheek of the simple-hearted boy, newly usher-
ed into the busy world. But who does not know the power of
habit in rubbing off the fine varnish of the delicate mind ? who
has not within a few months, heard the oath drop as if with native
vivacity from the tongue ? who has not seen vice and profanity
pass unreproved, even by the silent blush of shame ? As it is
with these sins, so it is with the greatest sin of which humanity is
guilty ; the sin of rejecting the Saviour. There is a time in youth
when the mind seems peculiarly open to the reception of a Saviour.
There is a time when the understanding and the affections sud-
denly burst forth into maturity, like the rose-bud bursting into the
full-blown rose ; a time when all the passions of our nature spurn
contrr.'. and break forth with a reckless impetuosity; and all . x-
perience testifies that that is the time when conviction of sin may

SERMON XXVII. 163

most easily be wrought in the soul ; the time when the work ano
sufferings of the Saviour may with greatest hope of success be
presented to the mind. It is then that the whole scene of Gospel
truth flashes upon the mind with a freshness and a power which,
in all human probability, it never will do again. The tenderness
of a Saviour's love, if resisted then, will everyday lose more of its
novelty and of its power to touch the heart ; the habit of resist-
ance to the word and testimony of a beseeching God will every
day become more predominant ; the stony heart will every day
become more a heart of adamant; the triple brass of unbelief will
every day become more impenetrable. Oh ! my friends, it is fear-
ful to think how many among us are every hour subjecting our
hearts to this sure and silent process of hardening. Look back,
brethren, as many of you may do, to the time when Christ and his
sufferings had first an awakening interest to your soul. Look
back to the first death in your family, or the first time you pre-
pared to sit down at the holy sacrament. Were there not arous-
ing, quickening feelings stirred in your breast, which now you
have not ? Had you not some struggle of conscience ; something
like a felt kicking against the pricks, in rejecting Christ, in putting
away the tenderness of the tenderest of beings ? But you were
successful in the struggle, you smothered every disquieting whis-
per, you lulled every pang of uneasiness. The Spirit was striv-
ing with you ; but you quenched his awakening influences. And
now, do you not feel that these days of feeling are well-nigh past ;
that spirit-stirring seasons are becoming every year rarer and
rarer to you ? Deaths are more frequent around you ; but they
speak with less power to your conscience. Every sacrament
seems to lose something of its affecting energy ; every Sabbath
becomes more dull and monotonous. It is true you may NOT feel
all this. There is a state of the conscience in which it is said to
be past feeling. But if there be any truth in the Bible, and any
identity in human nature, this process of hardening is going on day
after day in every unconverted mind. Oh ! it is the saddest of all
sights that a godly minister can behold, to see his flock, Sabbath
alter Sabbath, waiting most faithfully on the stirring ministrations
of the Word, and yet going away unawakened and unimpressed ;
for well he knows that the heart that is not turned, is all the more
hainened.

How simple and how mighty an argument is here to persuade
you to turn to God this day. This day we hold out to you all the
benefits to be found in Christ ; forgiveness through his blood, ac-
ceptance through his righteousness, sane tificat ion by his Spirit.
Rejoct them, and you add not only another act of sin to the burden
of your guilt, but you add another hardening crust to your im-
penetrable heart. Phis day refuse Christ, and, by all human calcu-
lation, you will more surely refuse him the next day ; so that,
A/..uKii at all meaning to question the sovereignty of the Spirit of

164 SERMON XXVII.

God, who workcth whensoever and on whomsoever it pleaseth him,
the only conclusion that any reasonable man has a right to come to,
is, that this day, of all days between this and judgment, is the best
and likeliest for your conversion ; and your dying day — that sad
season of tossings and heavings, before the spirit is torn from its
earthly tenement — is, in all human calculation, the worst day of
your life for turning unto God. When the minister of Christ pulls
aside the curtains of your bed, to speak the word of Jesus Christ,
the ear that for a whole lifetime has heard the glad message of
salvation all unmoved, will, in that hour, hear as if it did not hear.
The heart that has so long turned aside the edge of the Word of
Life, will then be like the nether millstone. " To-day, then, if ye
will hear His voice, harden not your hearts."

III. The call of the Saviour to turn now ought to be obeyed by
us, because the Saviour will not always call. — " My Spirit will not
always strive with man," was the warning of God given to the
antediluvian world. " Now they are hid from thine eyes" was a
similar warning given by the Saviour to Jerusalem. And the pas-
sage immediately following the text, expresses the same sentiment
in still more fearful language. And who does not see the solem-
nity and power which it gives to the call of the Saviour, that the
time is at hand when he will not call any more ?

Behold yon majestic figure bearing on his body the marks of
the Man of Sorrows ; but bearing in his eye and words the aspect
of Him " who liveth, and was dead, and behold he is alive for ever-
more." Behold, how he stands in an attitude of unmingled tender-
ness to sinners, even the chief! Behold, how the beseeching
hands are stretched out ! Hearken to the soft accents of mercy,
of invitation, of promise : " / will pour out my spirit unto you."
But remember that attitude of mercy is but for a time: these be-
seeching hands are stretched out only for a time; these accents of
gentleness are but for a time. The day is at hand when he shall
come " with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because
of him." This is Christ's attitude of judgment. No more are the
inviting hands stretched out beseechingly ; for the rod of iron is
in his right hand, and his enemies are before him as a potter's
vessel. His right hand teacheth him terrible things ; his arrows
are sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies, whereby the people
fall under him. And oh ! how fearfully shall his accents of ten- •
derness be changed !

" I also will laugh at your calamity ;
I will mock when your fear cometh ;
When your fear cometh as desolation ;
And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind ;
\V hen uidireas a, d anguish cometh upon you."

Oh ! what a day will it be, when the tender-hearted i«y>»

SERMON XXVII. 165

that wept at the grave of Lazarus, shall laugh at your cala-
mity, and mock at your terrors ! The contrast between these
two representations is so striking, that it cannot escape the
notice of any one. But what I wish you to observe is, that it is
not only a very striking change, but a very sudden one. The
transition from kindness to indignation is here not gradual, like
the change from day into night. There is no twilight, as it were ;
the transition is sudden as it is terrible. May not this be intended
to teach us that God frequently ceases to strive with men, not
gradually, but suddenly? not only that death is frequently sudden,
and that the coming of the Son of Man shall surely be sudden, as
a thief in the night, but that the withdrawing of the beseeching
Saviour from living men who long resist his call, is often sudden
and irremediable ? Awake, then, brethren, those of you who
think it is all one when you repent and embrace the Saviour,
provided it be done before you die. Awake, those of you who
say : " A little more sleep, and a little more slumber ; a little
more folding of the hands to sleep." The sun of grace may set
not like the sun of nature ; there may be no calm and tranquil
twilight, when thou mightest bethink thee of the coming darkness,
and flee to Him who is the light of the world. However this may
be, there is enough surely in the fact, that the Spirit withdraws
from those who resist him, whether suddenly or gradually, to
move every one of you this day to immediate conversion. It
must be now, or it may be never.

On a winter evening, when the frost is setting in with growing
intensity, and when the sun is now far past the meridian, and
gradually sinking in the western sky, there is a double reason why
the ground grows every moment harder and more impenetrable
to the plough. On the one hand, the frost of evening, with
ever-increasing intensity, is indurating the stiffened clods. On
the other hand, the genia! rays, which alone can soften them, are
every moment withdrawing and losing their enlivening power.
Oh ! brethren, take heed that it be not so with you. As long as
you are unconverted, you are under a double process of harden-
ing. The frosts of an eternal night are settling down upon your
souls; and the ,Sun of Righteousness, with westering wheel, is
hastening to set upon you for evermore. If, then, the plough of
grace cannot force its way into your ice-bound heart to-day, what
likelihood is there that it will enter in to morrow ? — Amen.

Larbert, JVov. 15, 1835.

166 SERMON XXVIII.

SERMON XXVIII.

A SON HONORETH HIS FATHER.

" A *on honoreth hi3 father, and a servant his master : if then I be a father, w h*.re
is mine honor ? and if I be a master, where is my fear ? saith the Lord of
hosts unto you." — Mai. i., 6.

THE first conviction that is essential to the conversion of the soul,
is conviction of sin ; not the general conviction that all men are.
sinful, but the personal conviction that I am an undone sinner:
not the general conviction that' other men must be forgiven or
perish, but the personal conviction that I must be forgiven or
perish. Now, there is no greater barrier in the way of this truth
being impressed on the soul, than the felt consciousness of pos-
sessing many virtues. We cannot be persuaded that the image
of God has so completely been effaced from our souls as the Bible
tells us, when we feel within ourselves, and see exhibited in others,
what may almost be termed godlike virtues. The heroes of
whom we have read in history, with their love of country, and
contempt of death, their constancy in friendship, and fidelity in
affection, seem to rise up before us to plead the cause of injured
humanity. And what is far more baffling, our every-day expe-
rience of the kindness of hospitality, the flowings of unbounded
generosity, the compassion that weeps because another weeps ;
and all this among men that care not for Christ and his salvation,
seems to raise a barrier impregnable against the truth, that man
is conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity. When we enter one
cottage door, and see a whole company of brothers and sisters
melted into tears at the sight of a dying sister's agonies ; or when
we enter another door, and see the tenderness of a mother's
affection toward the sick infant in her bosom ; or when we see, in
a third family, the cheerful obedience which the children pay to
an aged father ; or, in a fourth family, the scrupulous integrity
with which the servant manages the affairs of an earthly master,
we are ready to ask, Is this indeed a world of sin 1 is it possible
that the wrath of God can be in store for such a world ? It will
be very generally granted, that there are some men so utterly
worthless and incorrigible, so far gone in the ways of desperate
wickedness, that nothing else is to be expected for them, but "an
eternity of hopeless misery. There is a crew of abandoned
profligates, who scoff at the very name of God and religion.
There are Atheists, who openly deny his very being ; Infidels,
who openly deny that Christ came in the flesh. There are cold-
blooded murderers, and worse than murderers, who are confessed
by all to be a disgrace to the name of man. For these, few
would dare to plead exemption from the awful vengeance that

SERMON XXVIII. 167

awaits the ungodly. So that there is a felt reasonableness in the
dreadful words : "The abominable, and murderers, and whoremon-
gers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." But
that the obedient child, and the faithful servant, the tenderly
affectionate mother, the hospitab'e and generous neighbor, the
man of intelligence and good feeh ig, that all these should ever
be bound up in the same bundle of uestruction, and consigned to
the same eternal flames, merely because they do not believe in
Jesus : this is the rock of offence on which thousands stumble
and fall, to their inevitable loss.

There is. perhaps, no way more commonly used by man, to
repel all the personal convictions of sin which the Word of
God would cast on us. For do I not feel within me all the
tender affections of humanity, all the honesties and integrities of
our nature ? Do I not feel pleasure in being honest and fair deal-
ing, in being compassionate, and generous, and hospitable ? How
plainly, then, may I say to my soul : " Soul, take thine ease ?"
These virtues of thine are a sure token that thou art born for a
blessed eternity. Ah ! my friends, is it not a most blessed thing
that, in the passnge now before us, God wrests from our hand the
very weapon wherewith we would defend ourselves, and turns
it with a shaft to pierce our worldly consciences? And, oh!
if we had minds as intelligent as when Adam walked with God
in Paradise, nothing more would be necessary to carry to our
hearts the overwhelming conviction of sin than the repetition of
the words : " A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master ;
if then I be a father, where is mine honor ? and if I be a master,
where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you." There is
a power and a pathos in this argument, which might well break
down the hardest and most unfeeling mind ; it is as if God had
said, as he elsewhere doth : " Come and let us reason together."
You say that you have many excellent virtues, that you have
tender and beautiful affections; you say that filial and parental
love occupy a master-place in your bosom, that integrity and un-
sullied honesty beat high in your breast. And do I deny all th's ?
Shall I detract from the glory of my own handiwork, so beautiful,
even in ruins ? No, it is all true ; the son does honor his lather,
the servant is faithful to his master ; all is beautiful, when I
look only to the earthly relationships. But that is the very thing
which shows the utter derangement of all the heavenly relation-
ships; for, "if I then be a father, where is mine honor? if 1 be
a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you."
I see that you honor your earthly fathers, and serve faithfully
your earthly masters ; but that is the very thing which shows
me that I am the exception. I see that there is not a father in the
whole universe that is deprived of the loveof his children, but me
—there is not a master under heaven that is robbeti of the honor

168 SERMON XXVIII.

and service of his domestics, as I am. If, brethren, you and 1
wore sunk into ;irtu;il brutality, if we had no love for parents, nc
honesty to masters, then God might have had cause to say of us,
that nothing better could be expected from such wretches, than
that we should forget our heavenly Father and Master. But, oh !
when there are such tender and beautiful affections in our bosoms
towards our earthly relations, is not our sin written as with an
iron pen, and with lead in the rock for ever, that we make God
the exception, that we are godless in the world ?

I would now, with ail affection and tenderness, beseech every
one of you to search his own heart, and see if these things be not
so ; see if that which you generally take for the excuse of your
sins, be not the very essence of your sin. What would you not
do, what would you riot suffer, for the sake of an earthly parent?
and yet you will not expend so much as a thought, or the
breathing of a desire, for your heavenly Parent. God is not in
all your thoughts. You will toil night and day in behalf of an
earthly master; yet you will not do a hand's turn for your hea-
venly Master. God is the only parent whom you dishonor ; God
is the only master whom you wrong. " If you were blind, you
should have no sin ; but now it is plain you see, therefore, your
sin remaineth." If you were incapable of affection or fidelity,
then you should have no sin ; but now it is plain you are capable
of both, therefore, your sin rcmaineth. Imagine a family of
brothers and sisters all bound together by the ties of the closest
amity and affection. Oh ! it is a good and pleasant sight to see
brethren dwell together in unity. " It is like precious oint-
ment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's
beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments. It is as the
dew of Hermon, that descended upon the mountains of Zion."
What will they not do for each other? what will they not suffer
for each other? But, imagine again that all this unity, which
is so much like the temper of heaven, was maintained among
them, whilst all the while they were united in despising the tender
mother that bore them, in turning away from, and forsaking the
grey-haired father that had brought up every one of them.
Would not this one feature in the picture change all its beauty
and all its interest? Would it not make their unity more like that
of devils, than that of angels ? Would you not say, that their
affection for one another was the very thing which made their
disaffection to their parents hateful and most unnatural? Oh-!
brethren, the picture is a picture of us: "A son honoreth his
father, and a servant his master : if then I be a father, where is
mine honor ? and if I be a master, where is my tear ? saith the
Lord of hosts unto you."

Oh ! it is a fearlul thing, when our very virtues, to which we
flee for refuge against the wrath of God, turn round most fiercely
to «ondemn us. What avail your honesties, what avail your

SERMON XXVIII. 169

filial attachments, what avail your domestic virtues, which tht
world so much admire, and praise you for, if, in the sight of God,
these are all the while enhancing your ungodliness ? Let no man
misunderstand me, as if 1 had said that it was a bad thing to be
honest, to be faithful, and just, and affectionate to parents. Every
sensible man knows the value of these earthly virtues, and how
much they are invigorated and enlarged, and begin a new life, as it
were, when the worldly man becomes a believer. • But this I do
say, that if thou hast nothing more than these earthly virtues,
they will every one of them rise in the judgment only to condemn
thee. I say only what the mighty Luther hath said before me,
that these virtues of thine, whereby thou thinkcst to build thy
Babel tower to heaven, are but the splendid sins of humanity ;
and that they will only serve to cast thee down into tenfold
deeper condemnation. God doth not charge you, brethren, with
dishonesty, with disobedience to pn rents. The only charge which
he brings against you here is, the one long sin of the natural
man's life, ungodliness. God is not in all your thoughts. He
admits that you have earthly virtues ; but these just make blacker
and more indelible your sins against heaven.

I. I infer from this passage, that our worldly virtues will not
atone for sin, or make us acceptable in the sight of God. —
Humanity is a ruin ; but it is beautiful even in ruins. And
just as you may wander through some magnificent pfie. over
which the winter storms of whole centuries have passed, and
stand with admiring gaze beside every fluted column, now broken
and prostrate, and luxuriate with antiquarian fimcy amid the
half-defaced carving of Gothic ages, as you may do all this with-
out so much as a thought of the loss of its chief architectural
glory, the grand proportions of the whole towering majestically
heavenward, with bastion and minaret, all now lying buried in
their own rubbish, so may you look upon man; you may wan-
der from one earthly affection and faculty to another, filled with
admiration of the curious handiwork of Him who is indeed the
most cunning of artists ; you may luxuriate amidst the exquisite
adaptations of man to man, so nice as to keep all the wheels of
society running smoothly and easily forward ; you may do all
this, as thousands have done before you, without so much as a
thought of the loss of man's chiefest glory, the relation of man
to his God, that while many amid the rubbish of this world are
honest, and fair-dealing, and affectionate to parents, theie is not
one that seekelh after God.

Let us imagine for an instant that these worldly virtues could
take away sin; and just loqk to the consequences. Where would
you find the man altogether destitute of them? where is salvation
to stop? If honesty and generosity are to blot out one sin, why
not all sin ? In this way you can fix no limit between the saved

170 SERMON XXVIII.

and the unsaved ; and, therefore, all men may live as they please,
for you never can prove that one man is beyond the pale of sal-
vation. Again : if worldly virtues could blot out sin, Christ is
uYud in vain. He came to save his people from their sins. An-
gels ushered him into the world as the Saviour of sinners. John
bade men behold in him the Lamb of God that taketh away the
sins of the world; and the whole Bible testifies, that " through
this man is preached unto you the remission of sins." But if the
every-day honesties, and kindnesses, and generosities of life, could
avail to take away sin, what needed Christ to have suffered ? If
anything so cheap and common as earthly virtues are, could avail
to the blotting out of sin, why needed so inestimably precious a
provision to be made as the blood of the Son of God? If, with all
our honesties, and all our decencies and respectabilities in the world,
we do not stand in need of everything, why doth Christ counsel
us to buy of him gold tried in the fire, that we may be rich?
Nothing that is imperfect can make us perfect in the sight of God.
Hence the admirable direction of an old divine ; " Labor after
sanctification to the utmost ; but do not make a Christ of it ; if so
it must come down, one way or other. Christ's obedience and
sufferings, not thy sanctification, must be thy justification." The
matter seems a plain one. God is yet to judge the world in right-
eousness ; that is, by the strictest rule of his holy law. If we
are to be justified in his sight on that day, we must be perfect in
his sight. But that we cannot be. by means of our own sancti-
fication, which is imperfect. It must be through the imputing of
a perfect righteousness, then, even the perfect obedience of Christ,
that we are to be justified in that day. We are complete only in
Christ ; we are perfect only in Christ Jesus. But ah ! brethren,
if our sanctification will not do for a righteousness in that day,
much less will our worldly virtues do. If your honesties and
worldly decencies are to be enough to cover your nakedness,
and make you comely in the sight of God, why needed Christ to
have fulfilled all righteousness, as a surety in the" stead of sinners?
Why does he offer to make poor sinners the righteousness of God
in him? Why does he say of his saved ones: "Thou wast per-
fect in beauty, through my comeliness which I put upon thee?"

II. I infer from this passage that earthly virtues may accom-
pany a man to kell. — I desire to speak with all reverence, nnd with
all tenderness upon so dreadful a subject. The man who speaks
of hell should do it with tears in his eyes. But, oh ! brethren, is it
not plain, that if the love of earthly parents, and honesty to earthly
masters, be consistent with utter ungodliness upon earth, they may
also be consistent with the ungodliness of hell ? Which of you
does not remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus ?
When the rich man lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments,
and when he prayed Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger

SERMON XXVIII. 171

in water, and cool his tongue, what was the one other desire
which in that fearful hour racked the bosom and prompted the
prayer of the wretched man? was it not love for his brethren?
" I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my
father's house ; for I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto
them, lest they also come into this place of torment." — Luke xvi.,
27. Ah ! my brethren, does not this one passage remove a dread-
ful curtain from the unseen world of woe ? does it not reveal to
you some eternal pains which you never dreamed of. There will
be brotherly affection in hell. These parching flames cannot burn
out that element of our being. But, oh ! it will give no ease, but
rather pain. The love of children will be there ; but, oh ! what
agonies shall it not cause, when the tender mother meets the chil-
dren on whose souls she had no pity, the children whom she nevei
brought to the Saviour, the children unprayed for, untaught to
pray for themselves! Who shall describe the meeting of the
loving wife and the affectionate husband in an eternal hell ? those
that never prayed with one another, and for one another; those
that mutually stifled each other's convictions ; those that fostered
and encouraged one another in their sins? Ah! my friends, if
these, the tenderest and kindest affections of our nature, shall be
such fierce instruments of torture, what shall our evil affections be?
1 would now speak a word to those of you who are counting
upon being saved, because you are honest and affectionate to pa-
rents. Oh ! that you would be convinced this day by Scripture
and common sense, that these, if you be out of Christ, and there-
'fore not at peace with God, do but aggravate your ungodliness,
and will add torment inexpressible to your hell. If, then, our
very virtues condemn us, what shall our sins do ? If the ungodly
shall meet with so fearful a doom, where shall the open sinner
appear? But there is a fountain opened up in Zion, to which both
the ungodly and the sinner may go; and if only you will be per-
suaded to believe that you are neither more nor less than one of
these lost and undone creatures, I know well how swiftly you
will run to plunge yourself into these atoning waters. But if you
will still keep harping upon the theme of your many excellent
qualities, your honesty, your uprightness, your filial and parental
affection, your exactness in equity, your kindness in charity, and
\vill not be convinced by the very words of God, that though the
son honor his father, and the servant his master, these do but add
a deeper and more diabolical dye to your forgetfulness and con-
tempt of God. If you still do this, then we can only turn away
from you with sadness, and say: "The publicans and harlots
enter into heaven before you."

Lurbert, .Yov. 22, 1835.

(72 SERMON XXIX.

SERMON XXIX.

THE DIFFICULTY AND DESIRABLENESS OF CONVERSION.

* I waited patiently for the Lord ; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set mj
feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my
mouth, even praise unto our God : many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust ir
the Lord."— Ps. xl., 1-3.

THERE can be little doubt that the true and primary application
of this psalm is to our Lord Jesus Christ ; for though the verses
we have read might very well be applicable to David, or any other
converted man, looking back on what God had done for his soul,
yet the latter part of the psa!m cannot, with propriety, be the
language of any but the Saviour ; and, accordingly, the 6th, 7th,
and 8th verses are directly applied to Christ by the apostle in the
10th chapter of Hebrews: "Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest
not ; but a body hast thou prepared me : in burnt-offerings and
sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I
come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will,
O God." The whole psalm, therefore, is to be regarded as a
prayerful meditation of Messiah when under the hiding of his
Father's countenance ; for, how truly might he who knew no sin,
but was made sin for us, he on whom it pleased the Father to lay
the iniquities of us all, how truly might he say, in the language of
verse 12, ''Innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine
iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that 1 am not able to look
up ; they are more than the hairs of mine head ; therefore my
heart faileth me."

According to this view, verses 1-3 are to be regarded as a re-
calling a former deliverance from some similar visitation of dark-
ness, in order to comfort himself under present discouragement.
And who can doubt that he who was a man of sorrows, and ac-
quainted with grief, experienced many more seasons of darkness
and of heaven-sent relief than that which is recorded in the gar-
den of Gethsemane ? His so frequently retiring to pray alone,
seems to prove this. But as it is quite manifest that his description
of his iniquities laying hold upon him, is expressed in words most
suitable to any burdened but awakened sinner, so the verses of
my text are every way suitable to any converted soul looking
back on the deliverance which God hath wrought out for him.
" Waiting, I waited for Jehovah" (as verse 1 may be most literal-
ly rendered), expresses all the intense anxiety of a mind aroused
to know the danger he is in, and the quarter whence his aid must
come. " And he inclined unto me," expresses the oodily motion
of one who is desirous to hear, bending forward attentively. " And
he heard my cry."

SERMON XXIX. 173

" He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,

Out of the miry clay,
And 8et my feet upon a rock ;

He established my goings.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth,

Even praise unto our God :
Many shall see it, and fear,

And shall trust in the Lord."

He expresses the state of an unconverted man under the striking
imagery of one who is in an horrible pit, and sinking in miry
clay ; while the change at conversion is compared to setting his
feet upon a rock, and establishing his goings, and putting a new
song in his mouth. Regarding, then, my text as a true and faith-
ful picture of that most blessed change in state and character
which, in Bible language, is called conversion, I proceed to
draw from these words two simple but most important conclu
sions : —

I. The difficulty of conversion. — So difficult and superhuman is
the work of turning a soul from sin and Satan unto God, that God
only can do it ; and, accordingly, in our text, every part of the
process is attributed solely to him. " He brought me up out of
an horrible pit, he took me from the miry clay, he set my feet
upon a rock, he established my goings, and he put a new song in
my mouth." God, and GJod_alone, then, is the author of conver-
sion. He who created man at first, alone can create him anew in
Christ Jesus unto good works. And the reason of this we shall
see clearly by going over the parts of the work here described.
The first deliverance is imaged forth to us in the words : " He
brought me up out of an horrible pit ;" and the counterpart or cor-
responding blessing to that is, "He set my feet upon a rock"
There can hardly be imagined a more hopeless situation than that
of being placed, like Joseph, in a pit, and especially an horrible
pit, or a pit of destruction, as the Psalmist calls it. Hemmed in
on every side by damp and gloomy walls, with scarce an outlet
into the open air, in vain you struggle to clamber up to the light
and fresh atmosphere of the open day ; you are a prisoner in the
bowels of the earth, the tenant 6f a pit of horrors. Such is your
state, if you be unconverted ; you are lying in a pit of destruc-
tion ; you are dead while you live — buried alive, as it were ;
dead in trespasses and sins, while yet you walk in them. You
cannot possibly ascen^J to the light of day, and the fresh atmo-
sphere above you ; for the pit in which you are, is indeed your
prison-house; and except you be drawn up from it by the cords
of grace, it will usher you into that yawning pit which the Bible
says is bottomless. Such is your state, if you be unconverted.
You are under the curse ; for " cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things written in the book of the law to do them ;" and
you have never continued in any of these things, doing them from

174 SERMON XXIX.

the heart, as unto the Lord, which only can be called doing them.
You have never savingly believed on the Son of God ; and there-
fore you are " condemned already" — you have never been lifted
out of the pit of condemnation. " He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life ; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see
lite, but the wrath of God abideth on him ;" that is, it is never
lilted oil* him. The pit of wrath and destruction, in which you are
by nature, is never exchanged by you until you leave it for the
pit of wrath eternal. Since this horrible pit, then, represents the
state of wrath and condemnation in which we are by nature, how
impossible is it that we can extricate ourselves from it ! To
escape from the prison-house of earthly kings is a hard and daring
enterprise ; but who shall break loose from the prison-house of the
eternal God ? Who shall clamber up from the pit of condemna-
tion in which he confines the soul ? or who can work out a pardon
for past offences ? Who can blot out the sin of his past life?
Look back upon your lives, brethren, spent in forgetlulncss of God,
in desires and deeds contrary to God ; and then remember he is
infinitely just, he cannot lie, he cannot repent, and say if you
think it an easy thing, or a possible thing, to save yourselves from
the feariul pit in which you are now reserved for his wrath ?

Bo* il you cannot save yourself from the pit, and set your feet
upon ? rock, much less can you extricate yourself from the miry
clay ir.d establish your own goings. The pit of destruction re-
pres' nts the wrath you are in by nature ; the miry clay represents
the corruption you are in by nature. To be standing in a dry pit,
as Joseph was, is bad enough ; but, ah ! how hopeless and wretch-
ed, when you are standing in miry clay ! To be under condem-
nation for past sins, one would think to be misery sufficient ; but
your case is far more desperate, for you are also sinking daily
under the power of present corruptions. Every struggle which
you make to get up from your wretched condition, only makes
you sink deeper in the miry clay ; and every hour you remain
where you are, you are sinking the deeper ; your ever getting out
becomes more hopeless. How truly does the growth of sinful
habits in you resemble the sinking of your feet in miry clay !
Which of your habks does not grow inveterate by exercise ?
How does the habit of swearing grow upon a man until he is
absolutely its slave ? and so with those more refined sins whose
seat is in the heart. Every day gives them new power over the
soul — every new indulgence binds your feet more indissolubly
than ever in the evil way ; and though ^rou may, nay, in the
course of nature you must, change your lusts, your passions and
desires, yet every change is but like extricating one foot from the
miry clay, only to set it down again, in another spot to sink again.
Ah ! the undoneness of an unconverted heart ; what imagination is
bold enough to paint all its horrors ? Look in upon your own
hearts, ye who are unchanged in heart and life ; and. oh ' if the

SERMON XXIX.

Spirit of grace may but use the passage we are speaking of to
convince you this day of your sin, you shall see how truly there
is within you a dark chamber of imagery, a depth of spiritual
wretchedness, and inability, either to forgive your own self, or
to make your heart new — either to set your feet upon a rock,
or to establish your goings ; which can be described only by
such ideas as those of an horrible pit, and sinking in miry clay.

A third step in conversion you cannot take lor yourself; and
that is, the putting a new song in your mouth. A song is the
sign of gladness and light-heartedness, and hence James saith :
" Is any merry ? let him sing psalms." And the spoilers of Jeru-
salem, when they would put mockery on the sorrows of the
exiled Israelites, required of them mirth, saying : " Sing us one
of the Songs of Zion." But to sing a new song, even praise to
our God, is a privilege of the believer alone. To be merry and
glad in heart, whilst a holy God is before the thoughts, that is a
privilege only of him whose feet are settled on the Rock, Christ.
It is true the unconverted world have a mirth of their own ; and
they, too, can sing the song of gladness. But here lies the differ-
ence : They can be glad and merry only when God is not in all
their thoughts, only when a veil of oblivion is cast over the
realities of death and judgment. Keep away all serious thought
of these things, and then they can revel, like Belshazzar and his
thousand lords, when they drank wine, and praised the gods of
gold and of silver. But unveil to their eyes the grand realities of
a holy and omnipresent God, of death at the door, and after death
the judgment, and then is their countenance changed (as was
Belshazzar's at the appearance of the mysterious hand) ; their
thoughts trouble them, so that the joints of their loins are loosed,
and their knees smite one against another.

But to the believer a holy God is the very subject of his
song, praise to our God ; and the view of death and judgment do
not break in upon this divine melody. On his dying bed he may
begin the song which shall be finished only when he wakes up
in glory. Now, what unconverted man has the power to put
this supernatural song in his mouth, this strange joy in his heart?
Gladness cannot be forced, and least of .all this, the Christian's
gladness. If thou be unforgiven, unjustified, still at enmity with
God, how canst thou raise one note of praise to him ? In the
14th chapter of Revelation, where the redeemed sing, as it were,
a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts and the
elders, it is added : " ATid no man could learn that song, but the
hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from
the earth." None but new creatures can learn this new song.
Angels cannot join in it; for it is the hymn of the redeemed, of
those who were sinners, and have been made new. And, oh ! if
angels cannot, how much can unconverted, unredeemed sinners
join in that eternal harmony. In every way, then, how unspeak

176 SERMON XXIX.

ably hard a work is conversion ! How impossible with man
But with God all things arc possible. He hath provided the
Rock, Christ ; and his ear is not heavy that it should not hear, if
we but cry ; his arm is not shortened that it cannot save, if only
we will inquire of him for this. But,

II. From this picture of a true conversion I deduce, not only
the difficulty, but also the desirableness of conversion.

If you can imagine the delight of being lifted out of the horrible
pit, where wrath only awaited us, and having our feet set upon
the Rock, where our foundation is firm and solid as the everlast-
ing hills, and we are raised high above the reach of enemies, for '
our defence is the munition of rocks, then, my friends, you have
some notion of what it is to be taken out of wrath into peace,
to be translated from being under the curse to the privilege of
standing on the righteousness of Christ, standing on which you
are justified, so that neither man, nor angel, nor devil, can bring
accusation against you.

And, again, if you can imagine the delight of being carried out
of the miry clay, where your feet were continually sinking deeper
and deeper every hour, and of having your goings established,
a straight path set before you, and solid ground beneath you, then
you have some notion of what it is to be taken out of your worldly
lusts, and desires, and cares, and thoughts, and anxieties, and habits
of sin, in which every new day found you sinking deeper and deeper,
and always with less hope of recovery ; and to be enabled to love
God and the things of God, " to set your affection on things above,"
" to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

And still further, if you can imagine the delight of exchanging
the groan of the prisoner bound in affliction and iron, for the song
of the captive who has been set free, the emancipated slave, then
you have some notion of what it is to exchange the sullenness and
cheerlessness of an unrenewed spirit for the joy and light-hearted-
ness, and the new song of praise sung only by the redeemed.

But when you have imagined all these things, you will have a
notion merely, and nothing more, of the desirableness of conver-
sion. The riches of Christ are unsearchable. I might ransack
all nature for images. I might bring all conditions of misery and
sudden peace and happiness into contrast ; yet would I fail to give
you a just idea of the blessings received in conversion ; for, indeed,
"eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the
heart to conceive, the things which God hath prepared (in this
world, aye, in the hour of believing) for all them that love him."
But leaving images borrowed from nature, which may only con-
fuse, let me simply lay before you the realities which these images
•ignify. The first thing to be had in conversion is peace with
God: " Justified by faith we have peace with God." This is the
immediate effect of standing on the Rock, Christ. Sin-laden man

SERMON XXIX. 177

dost thou see no desirableness in peace with an offended, forgotten,
despised God ? Art thou so enamored of the horrible pit of en-
mity and condemnation, that thou hast no desire to be out of it ?
Then, indeed, it is in vain to tell you of a Saviour ; you see no
beauty in Christ. The second thing to be had in conversion is a
holy life : " To as many as receive Christ, he giveth power to
become sons of God." Depraved man, whose heart is wrinkled
with habitual sins, dost thou see no desirableness in a holy life ?
I do not ask thee if it would be pleasant to thee this moment to
restrain and cross all thine appetites, and desires, and indomitable
lusts ; I know it would appear to thee intolerable ; but I do ask
thee if thou seest no desirableness in having these very appetites
and desires changed or taken away in their power, so that strict-
ness and holiness of life would no longer appear irksome, but
pleasantness and peace. Art thou so delighted, not with the ob-
jects which gratify thy passions, but with these very passions
themselves, that thou hast no wish to be made new ? Then,
indeed, it is needless to tell thee of the Sanctifier.

The third good thing to be had in conversion is a joyful and
thankful heart : " We joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.'*
This is the song of the redeemed. The mirth of heaven is thank
fulness and praise. The mirth of heaven upon earth — that is, of
the converted mind — is the same, even praise to our God. If,
then, cheerfulness and thankfulness of m nd, which will endure
even amid all the gloominess of the death-bed, and the dark val-
ley, and the awful insignia of judgment ; if these be desirable
gifts of mind, these form parts of the desirableness of conver-
sion.

But to many of you I know it is in vain that I talk of the desira-
bleness of conversion ; for you do not yet feel the misery of being
unconverted — the wretchedness of being a child of wrath, and a
slave of corruptions. When we tell you that the unjustified are
in an horrible pit, that the unsanctified are sinking in miry clay,
you tell us that you never felt any horror about your situation.
Nay, you have many pleasures, and you are comfortable and at
ease. Ah! most wretched of all unconverted men, you are in
the horrible pit ; yet you are insensible to its horrors. You are
in the miry clay, sinking every step you take ; yet you feel no
alarm. You know that you never savingly believed in Christ ;
yet you have no horror when the Bible tells you you are " con-
demned already" You know that your heart has never been
made new — born again ; and yet you do not tremble when the
Bible tells you that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord."
You remind me of nothing so much as of a man travelling in a
snow storm, wandering far from home or shelter, and every step
he takes his feet sink the deeper in the drifted snow ; but a strange
insensibility creeps over his mind. Death itself has lost its hor-
rors. As his danger increases, his fears diminish. A deep slum-
12

178 SERMON XXIX.

her is quickly descending on every faculty, till he sinks down
quietly to sleep, but never to rise again.

In like manner, your insensibility, instead of being a sign that
there is no danger, increases the danger and horror of your situa-
tion a thousand fold. As the Bible is true, the state of every un-
converted man is so awful, that could you see it as God sees it, the
words, "an horrible pit and miry clay? would seem too feeble to
express it. " The sorrows of death and the pains of heW might,
perhaps, come nearer your view of it. Ah ! then, strive hard to
know the misery of being unconverted. Be determined to know
the worst of yourself; for thus only will you see the desirableness
of conversion, the excellency of Christ.

And now, then, laying together the two conclusions which I
have drawn from our text — the difficulty of conversion, so great
that God himself must be the author; and the desirableness of
conversion, so great that peace, and holiness, and joy. all depend
upon it — suffer the word of exhortation, to seek it in the only way
in which the Psalmist found it: " Waiting, I waited for Jehovah"
that is, / waited anxiously, " and he inclined unto me, and heard
my cry" He is more ready to hear, than thou to ask. The Rock
is already laid. Christ hath died, and thou art this day besought
to stand upon his righteousness ; and being in Christ, you shall
every day become more a new creature ; and being a new
creature, you shall sing a new song of praise to Him who hath
loved us.

One word to those of you who can look back upon an experi-
ence like that described in my text ; who can say that God hath
brought you out of an horrible pit and the miry clay, and set your
feet upon a rock, and established your goings, and put a new song
in your mouth. Take you heed that the following words be also
realized : " Many shall see it and fear, and shall trust in the Lord"
How many on every hand of you are yet unconverted, both in
the pit and in the clay ! Let them see, then, how great things God
hath done for your soul, that they may fear lest they db uncon-
verted ; lest this glorious change never come to them ; lest they
die old creatures, tenants of the horrible pit, to remove only to
the pit eternal ; lest they be altogether swallowed up in the miry
clay ; and thus, moved by fear, they may be persuaded to trust
in God, as you have done — to rest on the Rock, Christ, for 'right-
eousness.

" Let your light so shine before men, that they, seeing your
good works, may glorify your father which is in heaven." — Amen.

Dunifacc, Jiug. 2, 1635.

SERMON XXX 179

SERMON XXX.

THE LOVE OF CHRIST.

™ For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus Judge, that if one (lied
for ail, thep were all dead." — 2 Cor. v., 14.

OF all the features of St. Paul's character, untiring activity was
the most striking. From his early history, which tells us of his
personal exertions in wasting the infant Church, when he was a
blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious, it is quite obvious
that this was the prominent characteristic of his natural mind.
But when it pleased the Lord Jesus Christ to show forth in him
all long-suffering, and to make him a pattern to them which should
afterwards believe on Him, it is beautiful and most instructive to
see how the natural features of this daringly bad man became not
only sanctified, but invigorated and enlarged ; so true it is that
they that are in Christ are a new creation : " Old things pass away,
and all things become new." " Troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not for-
saken ; cast down, but not destroyed ;" this was a faithful picture
of the life of the converted Paul. Knowing the terrors of the
Lord, and the fearful situation of all who were yet in their sins,
he made it the business of his life to persuade men ; striving if, by
any means, he might commend the truth to their consciences.
" For (saith he) whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God ; or
whether we be sober, it is for your cause." — Verse 13. Whether
the world think us wise or mad, the cause of God and of human
souls is the cause in which we have embarked all the energies of
our being. Who, then, is not ready to inquire into the secret
spring of all these supernatural labors ? Who would not desire
to have heard from the lips of Paul the mighty principle that im-
pelled him through so many toils and dangers ? What magic spell
has taken possession of this mighty mind, or what unseen planet-
ary influence, with unceasing power, draws him on through all dis-
couragements, indifferent alike to the world's dread laugh, and the
feai of man, which bringeth a snare ; careless alike of the sneer
of the sceptical Athenian, of the frown of the luxurious Corinthian,
and ihe rage of the narrow-minded Jew ? What saith the apostle
himself? for we have his own explanation of the mystery in the
words before us : " The love of Christ constraineth us."

That Christ's love to man is here intended, and not our love to
the Saviour, is quite obvious, from the explanation which follows,
where his dying for all Is pointed to as the instance of his love.
It was the view of that strange compassion of the Saviour, mov-
ing him to die for his enemies, to bear double for all our sins, to
taste death for every man ; it was this view which gave him the

SERMON XXX.

impulse in every labor, which made all suffering light to him. and
every commandment not grievous. He ran with patience the
race that was set before him? Why? Because, looking unto
Jesus, In- lived a man crucified unto the world, and the world cru-
cified unto him. By what means? By looking to the cross of
Christ. As the natural sun in the heavens exercises a mighty and
unceasing attractive energy on the planets which circle round him,
so did the Sun of Righteousness, which had indeed arisen on Paul
with a brightness above that of noon-day, exercise on his mind a
continual and an almighty energy, constraining him to live hence-
forth no more unto himself, but to him that died for him and rose
again. And observe, that it was no temporary, fitful energy, which
it exerted over his heart and life, but an abiding and a continued
attraction ; for he doth not say that the love of Christ did once con-
strain him ; or that it shall yet constrain him ; or that in times of
excitement, in seasons of prayer, or peculiar devotion, the love of
Christ was wont to constrain him ; but he said simply, that the love
of Christ constraineth him. It is the ever-present, ever-abiding,
ever-moving power, which forms the main-spring of all his work-
ing ; so that take that away, and his energies are gone, and Paul
is become weak as other men.

Is there no one before me whose heart is longing to possess just
such a master-principle? Is there no one of you, brethren, who
has arrived at that most interesting of all the stages of conversion
in which you are panting after a power to make you new? You
have entered in at the straight gate ot believing. You have seen
that there is no peace to the unjustified ; and therefore you have
put on Christ for your righteousness ; and already do you feel
something of the joy and peace of believing. You can look back
on your past life, spent without God in the world, and without
Chr.st in the world, and without the Spirit in the world ; you can
see yourself a condemned outcast, and you say : " Though 1 should
wash my hands in snow water, yet mine own clothes would abhor
me." You can do all this, with shame and self-reproach, it is true,
but yet without dismay, and without despair ; for your eye has
been lifted believingly on him who was made sin for us, and you
are persuaded that, as it pleased God to count all your iniquities
to the Saviour, so he is willing, and hath always been willing, to
count all the Saviour's righteousness to you. Without despair, did
I say? nay, with joy and singing; for if, indeed, thou bclievest
with all thine heart, then thou art coine to the blessedness of -the
man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works;
which David describes, saying : "Blessed are they whose iniqui-
ties are forgiven, and whose sins are covered Blessed is the man
*o whom the Lord imputeth not sin." This is the peace of the
justified man. But is this peace a state of perfect blessedness ?
Is there nothing left to be desired? I appeal to those of you, who
know what it is to be just by believing. What is it that still

SERMON XXX. 181

clouds the Drow, tnat represses the exulting of tne spirit ? Why
might we not always join in the song of thanksgiving ; " Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits : who forgiveth
all thine iniquities !" If we have received double for all our sins,
why should it ever be needful for us to argue as doth the Psalmist :
" Why art thou cast down, O my soul : and why art thou disquiet-
ed within me?" Ah ! my friends there is not a man among you, who
has really believed, who has not felt the disquieting thought of
which I am now speaking. There may be some of you who have
felt it so painfully, that it has obscured, as with a heavy cloud, the
sweet light of the Gospel peace, shining in of the reconciled
countenance upon the soul. The thought is this : " I am a justified
man ; bat, alas ! I am not a sanctified man. I can look at my
past life without despair ; but how can I look forward to what is
to come ?"

There is not a more picturesque moral landscape in the universe
than such a soul presents. Forgiven all trespasses that are past,
the eye looks inwards with a clearness and an impartiality un-
known before, and there it gazes upon its long fostered affections
for sin, which, like ancient rivers, have worn a deep channel into
the heart, its periodic returns of passion, hitherto irresistible and
overwhelming, like the tides of the ocean ; its perversities of temper
and of habit, crooked and unyielding, like the gnarled branches
of a stunted oak. Ah ! what a scene is here, what anticipations
of the future ! what forebodings of a vain struggle against the
tyranny of lust ! against the old trains of acting, and of speaking,
and of thinking ! Were it not that the hope of the glory of God
is one of the chartered rights of the justified man, who would be
surprised if this view of terror were to drive a man back, like the
dog to his vomit, or the sow that was 'washed to wallow again in
the mire ? Now it is to the man precisely in this situation, crying
out at morning and at evening, How shall I be made new ? what
good shall the forgiveness of my past sins do me, if I be not deliver-
ed from the love of sin 1 it is to that man that we would now, with
all earnestness and affection, point out the example of Paul, and the
secret power which wrought in him. " The love of Christ" (says
Paul) " constraineth us." We, too, are men of like passions with
yourselves ; that same sight which you view with dismay within
you, was in like manner revealed to us in all its discouraging
power. Nay,ever and anon the same hideous viewof ourownhearts
is opened up to us. But we have an encouragement which never
fails. The love of the bleeding Saviour constraineth us. The
Spirit is given to them that believe ; and that almighty agent
hath one argument that moves us continually — THE LOVE OF
CHRIST.

My present object, brethren, is to show how this argument, in
the hand of the Spirit, does move the believer to live unto God ;
how so simple a truth as the love of Christ to man, continually

SERMON XXX.

presented to the mind by t.ie Holy Ghost, should enable any man
to live a life of Gospel holiness ; and if there be one man among
you whose great inquiry is : How shall I be saved from sin, how
shall I walk as a child of God ? that is the man of all others,
whose ear and heart I am anxious to engage.

1 The love of Christ to man constraineth the believer to live a
holy life, because that truth fakes away all his dread and hatred
Of Q0d, — When Adam was unfallen, God was everything to- his
soul ; and everything was good and desirable to him, only in so
far as it had to do with God. Every vein of his body, so fearfully
and wonderfully made, every leaf that rustled in the bowers of
Paradise, every new sun that rose, rejoicing like a strong man to
run his race, brought him in every day new subjects of godly
thought and of admiring praise ; and it was only for that reason
that he could delight to look on them. The flowers that appeared
on the earth, the singing of birds, and the voice of the turtle heard
throughout the happy land, the fig tree putting forth her green figs,
and the vines with the tender grapes giving a good smell, all these
combined to bring in to him at every pore a rich and varied tribute
of pleasantness. And why? Just because they brought into the
soul rich and varied communications of the manifold grace of
Jehovah. For just as you may have seen a child on earth devoted to
its earthly parent ; pleased with everything when he is present,
and valuing every gift just as it shows more of the tenderness of
that parent's heart, so was it with the genuine child of God. In
God he lived, and moved, and had his being ; and not more surely
would the blotting out the sun in the heavens have taken away
that light which is so pleasant to the eyes, than would the hiding
the face of God from him have taken away the liyht of his soul,
and left nature a dark and desolate wilderness. But when Adam
fell, the fine gold became dim, the system of his thoughts and lik-
ings was just reversed. Instead of enjoying God in everything
and everything in God, everything now seemed hatel'ul and dis-
agreeable to him, just in as far as it had to do with God.

When man sinned, then he feared, and hated Him whom he
feared ; and fled to all sin just to flee from Him whom he hated.
So that, just as you may have seen a child who has grievously
transgressed against a loving parent, doing all it can to hide that
parent from its view; hurrying from his presence, and plunging
into other thoughts and occupations, just to rid itself of the thought
of his justly offended father — in the very same way when fallen
Adam heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day, that voice which, before he sinned, was hea-
venly music in his ears — then did Adam and his wife hide themselves
from the presence of the Lord, among the trees of the garden.
And in the same way does every natural mnn run from the voice
and presence of the Lord, not to hide under the thick embower-
ing leaves of Paradise, but to bury himself in cares, and business

SERMON XXX. 133

ana pleasures and revellings. Any retreat is agreeable, where
God is not ; any occupation is tolerable, if God be not in the
thoughts. Now I am quite sure that many of you may hear this
charge against the natural man with incredulous indifference, if
not with indignation. You do not feel that you hate God, or
dread his presence ; and, therefore, you say it cannot be true
But, brethren, when God says of your heart, that it is " desperate-
ly wicked," yea, unsearchably wicked, who can know it? when
God claims for himself the privilege of knowing and trying the
heart ; is it not presumptuous in such ignorant beings as we are,
to say that that is not true, with respect to our hearts, which God
affirms to be true, merely because we are not conscious of it? God
saith that " the carnal mind is enmity against God" that the very
grain and substance of an unconverted mind is hatred against God,
absolute, implacable hatred against him in whom we live, and
move, and have our being. It is quite true thai we do not feel
this hatred within us ; but that is only an aggravation of our sin
and of our danger. We have so choked up the avenues of sell-
examination, there are so many turnings and windings, before we
can arrive at the true motives of our actions ; that our dread and
hatred of God, which first moved man to sin, and which are still
the grand impelling forces whereby Satan goads on the children of
disobedience ; these are wholly concealed from our view, and you
cannot persuade a natural man that they are really there. But
the Bible testifies, that out of these two deadly roots — dread of
God and hatred of God — grows up the thick forest of sins with
which the earth is blackened and overspread. And if there be
one among you, brethren, who has been awakened by God to know
what is in his heart, I take that man this day to witness, that his
bitter cry, in the view of all his sins, has ever been : " Against thee,
thee only have I sinned."

If, then, dread of God, and hatred of God, be the cause of all our
sins, how shall we be cured of the love of sin, but by taking away
the cause ? How do you most effectually kill the noxious weed ?
Is it not by striking at the root ? In the love of Christ to man,
then — in that strange, unspeakable gift of God, when he laid down
his life for his enemies, when he died the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God ; do not you see an object which, if
really believed by the sinner, takes away all his dread and all his
hatred of God ? The root of sin is severed from the stock. In
His bearing double for all our sins, we r«,-<j the curse carried away,
we see God reconciled. Why should we fear any more ? Not
fearing, why should we hate God any more ? Not hating God,
what desirableness can we see in sin any more ? Putting on the
righteousness of Christ, we are again placed as Adam was, with
God as our fri 3nd. We have no object in sinning ; and, therefore,
we do not care to sin. In the sixth chapter of Romans, Paul
; leeus to speak of the believer sinning, as if the very proposition

18* SERMON XXX.

were absurd. " How shall we, that are dead to sin;' that is
who in Christ have already borne the penalty, "how shall we
live any longer therein .'" And again he saith very boldly : " Sin
shall ?iot have dominion over you" — it is impossible in the nature
of things — " for ye are not under the law, but under grace ;" ye
are no longer under the curse of a broken law, dreading and
haling God; ye are under grace; under a system of peace and
friendship with God.

But is there any one ready to object to me, that if these things
be so, if nothing more than that a man be brought into peace with
God is needful to a holy life and conversation, how comes it .that
believers do still sin? I answer, it is indeed too true that believ--
ers do sin ; but it is just as true that unbelief is the cause of their
sinning. If, brethren, you and I were to live with our eye so
closely on Christ bearing double for all our sins, freely offering to
all a double righteousness for all our sins ; and if* this constant
view of the love of Christ maintained within us, as assuredly it
would, if we looked with a straightforward eye ; the peace of God
which passeth all understanding ; the peace that rests on nothing
in us, but upon the completeness that is in Christ, then, brethren, I
do say, that, frail and helpless as we are, we should never sin ; we
should not have the slightest object in sinning. But, ah ! my
friends, this is not the way with us. How often in the day is the
love of Christ quite out of view ! How often is it obscured to us !
sometimes hid from us by God himself, to teach us what we are.
How often are we left without the realizing sense of the complete-
ness of his offering, the perfectness of his righteousness, and with-
out the will or the confidence to claim an interest in him ! Who
can wonder, then, that, where there is so much unbelief, dread
and hatred of God should again and again creep in, and sin should
often display its poisonous head ? The matter is very plain,
brethren, if only we had spiritual eyes to see it. If we live a life
of faith on the Son of God, then we shall assuredly live a life of
holiness. I do not say we ought to do so ; but I say, we shall, as
a matter of necessary consequence. But in as far as we do not
live a life of faith, in so far we shall live a life of unholiness. It is
through faith that God purifies the heart ; and there is no other
way.

Is there one of you, then, brethren, desirous of being made
new, of being delivered from the slavery of sinful habits and affeo
tions ? We can point you to no other remedy but the love of
Christ. Behold how he loved you ! See what he bore for you ;
put your finger, as it were, into the prints of the nails, and thrust
your hand into his side ; and be no more faithless, but believing.
Under a sense of your sin, flee to the Saviour of sinners. As the
timorous dove flies to hide itself in. the crevices of the rock, so do
you flee to hiile yourself in the wounds of your Saviour ; and
when you have found him, like the shadow of a great rock in a

SERMON XXX. 185

weary land ; when you sit under his shadow, with great delight ;
you will find that he hath slain all the enmity ; that he hath
accomplished all your warfare. God is now for you. Planted
together with Christ in the likeness of his death, you shall be also
in the likeness of his resurrection.- Dead unto sin, you shall be
alive unto God.

2. The love of Christ to man constraineth the believer to live a
holt/ life ; because that truth not only takes away our fear and
hatred, but stirs up our love. — When we are brought to see the
reconciled face of God in peace, that is a great privilege. But
how can we look upon that face, reconciling and reconciled, and
not love him who hath so loved us ! Love begets love. We can
hardly keep from esteeming those on earth who really love us,
however worthless they may be. But, ah ! my friends, when we
are convinced that God loves us, and convinced in such a way as
by the giving up of his Son for us all, how can we but love him,
in whom are all excellences — everything to call forth love? I
have already shown you that the Gospel is a restorative scheme;
it brings us back to the same state of friendship with God which
Adam enjoyed, and thus takes away the desire of sin. But now
I wish to show you, that the Gospel does far more than restore us
to the state from which we fell. If rightly and consistently em-
braced by us, it brings us into a state far better than Adam's. It
constrains us by a far more powerful motive. Ad;im had not this
strong love of God to man shed abroad in his heart; and, there-
fore, he had not this constraining power to make him live to God.
But our eyes have seen this great sight. Before us Christ hath
been evidently set forth crucified. If really we believe, his love
hath brought us into peace, through pardon ; and because we are
pardoned and at peace with God. the Holy Ghost is given us.
What to do? Why, just to shed abroad this truth over our
hearts, to show us more and more of this love of God to us, that
we may be drawn to love him who hath so loved us, to live to him
who died for -us and rose again.

It is truly admirable to see how the B ble way of making us
holy is suited to our nature. Had God proposed to frighten us
into a holy life, how vain would have been the attempt ! Men
have always an idea, that if one came from the dead to tell us oi
the reality of the doleful regions where dwell, in endless misery,
the spirits of the damned, that that would constrain us to live a
holy life ; but, alas ! brethren, what ignorance does this not show
of our mysterious nature ! Suppose that God should this hour un-
veil before our eyes the secrets of those dreadful abodes where
nope never comes ; nay, suppose, if it were possible, that you
were actually made to feel for a season the real pains of the l;ike
of living agony, and the worm that never dies ; and then that you
were brought back again to the earth, and placed in your old
•ituation, among your old friends and companions ; do you really

186 SERMON XXX.

think that there would be any chance of your walking with God
as a child ? I doubt not you would be frightened out of your
positive sins ; the cup of godless pleasure would drop from your
hand ; you would shudder at an oath, you would tremble at a
falsehood, because you had seen and felt something of the torment
which awaits the drunkard, and the swearer, and the liar, in the
world beyond the grave ; but do you really think that you would
live to God, any more than you did ; that you would serve him
better than before? It is quite true you might be driven to give
larger charity ; yea, all your goods to feed the poor, and your
body to be burned; you might live strictly and soberly, mos\
fearful of breaking one of the commandments, all the rest of your
days : but this would not be living to God ; you would not love
him one whit more. Ah ! brethren, you are sadly blinded to your
curiously formed hearts, if you do not know that love cannot be
forced ; no man was ever frightened into love, and, therefore, no
man was ever frightened into holiness.

But thrice blessed be God, he hath invented a way more power-
ful than hell and all its terrors ; an argument mightier far than
even a sight of those torments ; he hath invented a way of draw-
ing us to holiness. By showing us the love of his Son, he calleth
forth our love. He knew our frame, he remembered that we were
dust, he knew all the peculiarities of our treacherous hearts ; and,
therefore, he suited his way of sanctifying to the creature to be
sanctified. And thus, the Spirit doth not make use of terror to
sanctify us, but of lore : " The love of Christ constraineth us."
He draws us by " the cords of lov<>,, by the bands of a man" What
parent does not know that the true way to gain the obedience of a
child, is to gain the affections of the child ? And think you, God,
who gave us this wisdom, doth not himself know ? Think you he
would set about obtaining the obedience of his children, without
first of all gaining their affections ? To gain our affections, bre-
thren, which by nature rove over the face of the world, God hath
sent his son into the world to bear the curse of our sins.
** Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we,
through his poverty, might be made rich."

And oh ! if there is but one of you who will consent this day,
under a sense of undoneness, to flee for refuge to the Saviour,
to find in him the forgiveness of all sins that are past, I know
well, that from this day forth you will be like that poor woman
which was a sinner, which stood at Christ's feet behind him,
weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wip»
them with the hairs of her head ; and kissed his feet, and
anointed them with the ointment. Forgiven much, you \\ill
love much ; loving much, you will live to the service of
Him whom you love. This" is the grand master-principle of
which we spoke ; this is the secret spring of all the holiness of
the saints. The life of holiness is not what the world falsely

SERMON XXX. 187

represents it, a life of preciseness and painfulness, in wk.ch a
man crosses every affection of his nature. There is no such
thing as self-denial in the Popish sense of that word in the reli-
gion of the Bible. The system of restrictions and self-crossings
is the very system which Satan hath set up as a counterfeit of
God's way of sanctifying. It is thus that Satan frightens away
thousands from Gospel peace and Gospel holiness ; as if to be
a sanctified man were to be a man who crossed every desire of
his being, who did everything that was disagreeable and uncom-
fortable to him. My friends, our text distinctly shows you that it
is not so. We are constrained to holiness by the love of Christ ;
the love of him who loved us, is the only cord by which we are
bound to the service of God. The scourge of our affections
is the only scourge that drives us to duty. Sweet bands and
gentle scourges ! Who would not be under their power ?

And, finally, brethren, if Christ's love to us be the object which
the Holy Ghost makes use of, at the very first, to draw us to the
service of Christ, it is by means of the same object that he draws
us to persevere even unto the end. So that if you are visited
with seasons of coldness and indifference, if you begin to be
•weary, or lag behind in the service of God, behold ! here is the
remedy : Look again to the bleeding Saviour. That Sun of
Righteousness is the grand attractive 'centre, round which all his
sai:its move swiftly, and in smooth harmonious concert, " not with-
out song" As long as the believing eye is fixed upon his love,
th • path of the believer is easy and unimpeded ; for that love
always constraineth. But lift off the believing eye, and the path
becomes impracticable, the life of holiness a weariness. Whoso-
ever, then, would live a lit'.' of persevering holiness, let him keep
his eye fixed on the Saviour. As long as Peter looked only to
the Saviour, he walked upon the sea in safety, to go to Jesus ;
but when he looked around, and saw the wind boisterous, he
was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried, " Lord, save me !"
Just so will it be with you. As long as you look believingly to
the Saviour, who loved you. and gave himself for you, so long
you may tread the waters of life's troubled sea, and the soles
of your feet shall not be wet ; but venture to look around upon
the winds and waves that threaten you on every hand, and,
like Peter, you begin to sink, and cry, " Lord, save me !" How
just y, then, may we address to you the Saviour's rebuke to Peter :
" O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?" Look
ag iin to the love of the Saviour, and behold that love which
constraineth thee to live no more to thyself, but to him that died
for thee and rose again.

Cullegf Church, August 30, 1335

|88 SERMON XXXI.

SERMON XXXI.

ARISE, SHINE.

•• Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people;

but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And

the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."

-Isa. lx., 1-3

THESE words are yet to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. It has been
long trodden down by the Gentiles, its walls are desolate, its tem-
ple burnt, and the Mosque of Omar raised over it in cruel mock-
ery. The ways of Zion do mourn ; because none come to the
solemn feasts. No sunbeam pours upon the dark brow of JudaK ;
no star of Bethlehem sparkles in their sky. But another day is
at hand. The time is coming when a voice shall be heard jay-
ing to Jerusalem ; " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the
glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."

Observe, 1. It shall be a time when the world is in darkness ;
" For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross dark-
ness the people." The whole Bible bears witness that the time
when the Jew is to be enlightened is to be a time when the world
is dark and unenlightened. Paul says plainly that the world will
be dead, one great dead mass, when God gives life to the Jews :
" If the casting away of them has been the reconciling of the
world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead ?"

2. In that time of darkness, the Lord Jesus shah1 reveal him-
self to the Jews, the veil shall be taken away, and that glori-
ous Bridegroom shall come for h to them : " The Lord shall
arise upon thee, and his glory sh- 1 be seen upon thee." Like the
rising sun appearing above theh ,1s, tinging all Mount Olivet with
living gold, then pouring down upon the prostrate ruins of Jeru-
salem, till the holy hills smile again in his cheering ray ; so shall it
be with desolated Judah. Christ shall arise upon their souls,
the day shall dawn, and the day-star arise on their hearts.
Christ shall appear beautiful and glorious, and they shall submit
with joy to put on his imputed righteousness. His glory, his
beauty, his comeliness shall be seen upon them.

3. Observe the command of God to the enlightened Jews : '
" Arise, shine." Hitherto they have been sitting on the ground,
desolate, in darkness ; but when Christ is revealed to them, they
shall give life to the dead world, they shall be the lights of a dark
world. The word is, " Arise, shine." As Christ rises upon them.
so they must rise on the dark world ; as Christ shines upon them,
so they must reflect his beauty and his brightness all P round.
Even as the moon, in itself dark and desolate, does not r ink in

SERMON XXXI. 189

the rays of the sun, but arises and shines, reflecting his beams on
the dark earth ; so shall it be with the enlightened Jews.

4. The effect : " The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings
to the brightness of thy rising." When the songs of the ransomed
Israelites are heard in their native mountains, their mouth filled
with laughter and their tongue with singing, then shall the nations
say : " The Lord hath done great things for them." Ten men
cut of all languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt
of him that is a Jew, saying : " We will go with you ; for we have
heard that God is with" you." When the psalms of Israel itse
from under their vine and their fig-tree, even kings shall lay by
their crowns, and come to learn of them the way to peace.
Dear brethren, pray for the Jews, pray for the peace of Jeru-
salem. Oh ! hasten the happy day. The Lord will hasten it
in his time.

Doctrine. — Chrfst arises and shines upon souls, in order that
they may arise and shine.

I. By nature men are in a state of darkness. Verse 2 : " Dark-
ness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people." When
Christ arises upon a soul, he finds it in utter darkness.

1. He does not know himself. — A man in the dark cannot see
himself, he cannot see his own hand before him, he cannot tell
whether his hands are filthy or clean ; so is it with all of you who
are in an unconverted state. You do not know yourselves.
Yo'ir fingers are defiled, your garments are stained ; but you
know it not. Impure desires are written in your heart ; but
you cannot read what is there. You say : " Peace, peace,
when there is no peace."

2. A natural man shrinks from the light. — A person who has
been long in a dark dungeon, cannot bear the glaring light ; it
hurts the eyes ; he starts back into his darkness ; so is it with
all unconverted souls. You love the darkness rather than the
light ; because your deeds are evil. When the light of God's holy
law is brought upon you, you shrink back from it. When Jesus,
who is the light of the world, is preached unto you, you shut your
eyes closer than before. Is there none of you who has felt that
when Christ is fully preached to you, when you have been com-
pelled for a little to bear the light of his lovely countenance shin-
ing through the Word, when you have gone home, did you not
creep back with delight to other thoughts of sin and worldlines.s ?
The more that sun shone, the more you have closed your ey^s.
Oh ! how plainly you are in darkness, and a lover of it.

3. A natural man gropes after salvation. — A man in the d;irk
gropes like the blind. If he wants to find the door, he is obliged
to feel for it ; he gropes about, not knowing where to place his
hand ; often he goes in the very opposite direction : so is it with
natural men seeking salvation, they grope for it in the dark. " Wo

(90 SERMON XXXI.

irrope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no
eves : we stumble at noonday as in the night ; we are in desolate
places as dead men." Isa. lix., 10. Do you not remember a time
whrn you were alarmed about your soul ? a sudden threatening of
doath, or the near approach of a sacrament, awakened you to
tremble for your soul. And where did you go for peace ? You
did not know where to go ; you groped for it ; you did not know
where to turn yourself. You were directed to Jesus ; but you
could comprehend him : " The darkness comprehended it not."
How plain that you are in gross darkness !

4. They know not at what they shall stumble. — A man in the
dark does not know what he may come against. His next step
may be over a precipice, or upon dark mountains ; so is it with
Christless souls : " The path of the wicked is as darkness ; they
know not at what they shall stumble." Oh ! poor blinded souls,
that walk so boldly in sin; ye know not whafye do. You that
know you have never come to Christ, and yet walk with a light,
confident step, as if you were to walk on a smooth carpet for ever,
awake, dear souls. Do not rush on in the dark ; for fear, arid the
pit, and the snare are in the way, and many bold sinners have gone
down quick into hell. Give glory to the Lord before your feet
stumble on the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn
it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

II. Learn how a soul is brought into light and peace ; " The
Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee."

1. It is hy Christ rising upon the soul. — The image here is taken
from the rising of the sun. When the sun rises, then all is light ;
so when Christ rises upon the soul, all is light. When God first
awakens a soul, he finds himself sitting in gross darkness and the
shadow of death ; he fears he shall soon be cast into outei
darkness. He says, I must make my way to light ; so he strug-
gles to justify himself, he tries to blot out his past sins by repent-
ance, he tries to mend his life ; but he is met by the word : " Be-
hold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with
sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that ye
have kindled ; this shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down
in sorrow." So he sits down in agony, in more midnight dark-
ness than before ; but man's extremity is God's opportunity. The
soul is sitting, as it were, in a dungeon ; he sees no way of peace.
The Spirit opens the Word, and Christ shines through, Christ the
Son of God, the Lord our Righteousness. The heart of Christ
is revealed, his love to the lost, his undertaking for them, his surety-
ship obedience, his suretyship sufferings. Glorious Christ ! pre-
cious Christ ! He shines like a new sun, the soul gazes and says :
" Truly light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to be-
hold the sun." Has Christ risen upon you ? Has he been re-
vealed to you, that better Sun ? Oh ! if not, you are of all men

SERMON XXXI. 191

most miserable ; you are sitting "n darkness and the shadow of
death. Oh ! what are all the sparks of worldly pleasure, what
are all the fires and torches of the world's kindling? They are
like the glowworm's deceitful blaze, they are leading you to ruin ;
they will soon go out, and leave you to the blackness of darkness
for ever.

Anxious souls, learn to look out for peace, — Oh ! how anxiously
you search that bosom, to see if there is any change there which
may give you peace. Now, change your plan. No more gaze
into that foul dungeon ; but look out upon the glorious Sun, look
upon Christ : one look to him gives peace.

Learn to wait for light. — Be like those that wait for the morn-
ing. You can no more bring yourself into peace than you can
change the course of the sun. Feel your vileness, feel your help-
lessness, and wait on his hand to take the veil away. " I wait for
the Lord ; my sonl doth wait, and in his word do I hope ; my
soul \vaiteta lor the Lord more than they that watch for the morn-
ing."

2. C*iri~t's gjory is put upon the soul: — "His glory shall be
soer upon th: e.'1 It has long been discovered that color is nothing
in the object, but is all thrown upon i> 77 the suli, and reflected
back again. Th' Leaatiful colors with whi^h this lovely world
is adorned, all proceed fron< t'le s'.a. His glory is seen upon the
earth. It is all the gilt of tne sm that the grass is of that refresh-
ing green, and the rivers arc hnes of waving blue ; it is all the
gift of the sun that the flowers are tinged with their thousand
glories ; that the petal of the rose has its delicate blush, and the
lily, that neither toils nor spins, a brightness that is greater than
Solomon's. Now, my dear souls, this is the way in which you
may be justified. You are dark, and vile, and worthless in your-
selves ; but Christ's glory shall be seen on you.

Observe it is His glory. — If you only consent to take Christ for
your surety, his divine righteousness is all imputed to you ; his
sufferings, his obedience are both yours Tell me, anxious soul,
what are you seeking? "lam seeking to make myself appear
better in the sight of God." Well, then, do you think you will
ever make yourself appear as lovely and glorious as Jesus Christ
in the eyes of God ? " No, I have no hope of that." Ah ! then,
look here. Christ himself is offered you for a covering ; put on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Oh !
that God would open some heart to believe the word concerning
Jesus. Oh ! to see dust and ashes clothed in the brightness and
beauty of Christ ! Oh ! to see a weary sinner perfect in beauty,
through Christ's comeliness ! This is the loveliest sight in all the
world. " His glory shall be seen upon thv."

III. The command to all in Christ • "Arise, shine" There never
yet was a man saved for himself. God never yet made a Chria-

1 92 SERMON XXXI.

tian to be a selfish being. " Ye are the salt of the earth." But
salt is not for itself, but to be used. A city set on a hill cannot
be hid ; so a Christian is set upon God's holy hill not to be hid.
No man lighteth a candle and putteth it under a bushel or a bed.
but on a candlestick, and then it gives light to all that are in the
house. But here is a more wonderful comparison still : " Arise,
shine." Christians are to become like Christ — little suns, to rise
and shine upon the dark world. He rises and shines upon us,
and then says to us, " Arise, shine." This is Christ's command to
all on whom he has arisen : " Arise, shine." Dear Christians, ye
are the lights of the world. Poor, and feeble, and dark, and sin-
ful, though you be, Christ has risen upon you for this very end, '
that you might " Arise and shine."

1. Be like the sun, which shineth every day, and in every place.—
Wherever he goes he carries light ; so do you. Some shine like
the sun in public before men, but are dark as night in their own
family. Dear Christians, look more to Christ, and you will shine
more constantly.

2. Shine with Christ's light. — The moon rises and shines, but
not with her own light, she gathers all from the sun ; so do you.
Shine in such a' way that Christ shall have all the glory. They
shine brightest who feel most their own darkness, and are most
clothed in Christ's brightness. Oh ! wherever you go, make it
manifest that your light and peace all come from him ; that it is
by looking unto Jesus that you shine ; that your holiness all comes
from union to him. " Let your light so shine before men."

3. Make it the business of your life to shine. — If the sun were
to grow weary of running his daily journey, and were to give
over shining, would you not say it should be taken down ? for did
not God hang it in the sky to give light upon the earth ? Just so,
dear Christians, if you grow weary in well-doing, in shining with
Christ's beauty, in walking by Christ's Spirit, you, too, should be
taken down and cast away ; for did not Christ arise upon you for
this very end, that you might be a light in the world ? Ah ! think
of this, dark, useless Christians, who are putting your candle under
a bushel. I tremble for some who will not lay themselves out for
Christ. Ah ! you are wronging yourselves and dishonoring
Christ. Your truest happiness is in shining; the' more you shine*
for Christ, the happier you will be. "To me to live is Christ;
and to die, gain."

4. Shine far and near. — You are this day besought to help your
brethren in the colonies ; to send them the Gospel, that the Sun of
Righteousness may rise upon them. Obj. Better help the heathen
at home. Ans. It is quite right to help the heathen at home ; b«t
it is just as right to help the heathen abroad. Oh! that God
would free you from a narrow mind, and give you his own divine
Spirit. Learn a lesson from the sun. It shines both far and near ;
*t does not pour its beams all into one sunny valley, or on one

SERMON XXXII. 193

bright land. No ; it jpurneys on from shore to shore ; pours its
rich beams upon the wide ocean ; on the torrid sands of Africa
and the icy coasts of Greenland. Go you and do likewise.
Shine as lights in the world.

Shine in your closet in secret prayer. Ah ! let your face shine
in secret communion with God. Shine in your family ; that with-
out the word you may gain their souls. Shine in your town ;
that, when you mingle with the crowd, it may be as if an angel
shook his wings. Shine in the world ; embrace every shore with
the beams of living love. Oh ! let your heart's desire and prayer
be, that every soul may be saved. Be like Christ himself, who is
not willing that any should perish. And whenever a soul sinks
into the dark lake of eternal agony, may you be able to lift up
your tearful eyes and say: Father. I have prayed to the last, and
spoken to the last. "Even so. Father; for so it seemed good in
thy sight."

SERMON XXXII.

MELTING THE BETRAYER.

" When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and saia, Ve-
rily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." — John xiii., 2) .

THERE are many excellent and most Christian men who think
that the feast of the Lord's Supper should never be sullied or
interrupted by allusions to those who may be eating and drinking
unworthily. They think that when men have, by their own
solemn act and deed, deliberately seated themselves at the table
of the Lord, that table to which none but believers in Jesus are
invited, they think that, for the time being, at least, it is the part
of that charity which hopeth all things, to address them as if all
were the genuine disciples of Jesus, and children of God. These
good men know well that there are always many intruders into
•that holy ordinance ; they know that many come from mere
custom, and a sense of decency, and from a dislike to be marked
out as openly irreligious and profane ; and though they feel, in
addressing the whole mass as Christians, many a rise of conscience
within, many a sad foreboding that the true guests may be the little
flock, while the intruders may be the vast majority ; yet they do
not feel themselves called upon to disturb the enjoyment of the
believing flock, however few they may be, by insinuating any
such dark suspicion as that there may be some there who have
already sold their Lord for their sins ; some who, though they
may eat bread with him, yet lift up the heel against him.
13

194 SERMON XXXII.

Now, a most complete answer to the scruples of these good
men is to be found in the example of our blessed Lord. In that
niirht, so much to be remembered, in which he instituted the
Lord's Supper, a night in which nothing but kindness and ten-
derness flowed from his blessed lips, we find that no fewer than
five times over did he begin to speak about his betrayer. In
many respects thnt was the most wonderful evening that ever was
in the world, and that upper room in Jerusalem the most wonder-
ful room that ever was in the world. Never did the shades of
evening gather round a more wonderful company, never did the
walls of an upper chamber look upon so wonderful a scene. Three
strange events were crowded into thai little space. 1st, There
was the washing the disciples' feet; the Lord of glory stooping as
a servant to wash the feet of poor worms ! 2d, There was the last
passover, eating of the lamb and the bitter herbs, which had been
the memorial of the dying Saviour to all believing Jews, but which
wa« now to come to an end. '3d, There was the first Lord's
Supper, the breaking of bread und pouring out of wine, and the
giving and receiving of it, which was to be the memorial of his
dying love even to the end of the world. Oh ! what an as-
semblage of love was here ! what a meeting together of incidents,
each one more than another picturing forth the inexpressible love
of Jesus ! Oh ! what an awfully tender hour was this ! Oh !
what an awfully tender joy was now thrilling through the bosoms
of his believing disciples ! Oh ! brethren, what an exulting glad-
ness would now fill the- bosom of the courageous Peter ! what an
adoring love the breast of the Israelite indeed, the simple-hearted
Nathaniel ! and what a breathing of unspeakable affection in the
heart of the beloved John, as he leaned on the dear Saviour's
bosom ! Oh ! who would break in on such an hour of holy joy with
harsh and cruel words about the betrayer? who would dare to
ruffle the -lalm tranquillity of such a moment by one word of dark
suspicion? Hush ! brethren, it is the Saviour that speaks: " Ve-
rily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me"

I trust, then, my friends, you see plainly, from the example of our
blessed Lord, that the awfully solemn warning of the text, instead of
being a rash and unwarrantable intrusion upon the joyous feelings
with which every true disciple should encompass the table of the
Lord, is, of all other Scriptures, the most appropriate, and the
most like what Jesus would have us to say upon this solemn
occasion. It is not, then, with the harshness of unfeeling man,
but it is with the tenderness of the compassionate Jesus, that we
repeat these words in your hearing : " Verily, verily, I say unto
you, that one of you shall betray me."

There is a cruel kindness, almost too cruel, one would think,
for this cruel world, which is sometimes practised by the friends
of a dying man, when from day to day they mark the approaches
of death upon his pallid cheek, and yet they will not breathe a

SERMON XXXII. 195

whisper of his danger to him. They flatter him with murderous
lies, that he is getting better, and will yet see many days, when
his days are numbered. But ten thousand times more cruel, more
base and unfeeling, would that minister be, who, set over you by
God to care for your never-dying souls, should yet look upon
those of you who surround so willingly the table of the Lord, but
whose whole life, and walk, and conversation, proclaim you to
be the betrayers of that Lord, and not once lift up the warning
crv : " Ye are not all clean. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that
one of you shall betray me."

Ques. — What could be Christ's reason for so often and so
solemnly speaking of his betrayer ?

Ans. — I can see no other reason for it but that he might make
one last effort to melt the heart of his betrayer.

Doctrine. — Christ is earnestly seeking the salvation of those
unconverted persons who sit down at his table.

There are two arguments running through the whole of this
scene by means of which Jesus tried to melt the betrayer. 1st,
His perfect knowledge of him. As if he had said : I know thee,
Judas ; I know thy whole life and history ; I know that thou hast
always been a thief and a traitor ; I know that thou hast sold me
for thirty pieces of silver ; I know all thy plans and all thy crimes.
Jri this way he tried to awaken the traitor, to make him feel
himself a lost sinner. 2d, His anxious love for him. As if he
had gaid, I love thee, Judas ; I have left the bosom of the r'ather
just for lost sinners like thee ; I pitied thee before the world was;
I am quite willing still to be a Saviour to thee. In this way he
tried to win the traitor, to draw him to himself.

I. All the Saviour's dealings with Judas were intended to con-
vince him that he knew his whole heart : " I know thee, Judas,
and all thy crimes."

1. This was plainly his intention when washing the disciples'
feet, and telling them, that if they be bathed in his blood, they
need nothing more than to have their feet washed, their daily
sins wiped off daily: " Ye are clean every whit." He then adds,
but " Ye are not all clean" This was evidently intended as a hint
to Judas, to awaken his guilty conscience.

2. And then, when he had sat down again to partake of the
passover with them, and had sent round the cup of the passover,
saying, as we are told in Luke, *' Take this, and divide it among
yourselves," he would not let Judas slumber, as if he were un-
known to him ; but declares more plainly than before, "I know
whom I have chosen ; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He
that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.1*
This was evidently intended as a plainer intimation to Judas, that,
ho'wever concealed he might be to others, he was naked and laid
open to the eyes of the Saviour, with whom he had to do.

196 SERMON XXXII.

3. And, thirdly, when he was about to put the bread and wine
into tlu-ir hands, 'to institute the holy ordinance of the supper, he
would not do it without a still more convincing proof to the con-
science of Judas that he knew him perfectly, " As they did eat,
he said, Verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me :
and they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of
tlu'in to say unto him, Lord, is it I ? And he answered, lie it
is thatdippeth his hand with me in the dish ; he it is that betrayeth
me. And Judas answered and said, Lord, is it I ? He said unto
him, Thou hast said." Here we find the Saviour no longer deals
in hints and intimations, but tells him plainly he is the man.
Oh ! my friends, if we did not know the deceitfulncss of the
natural heart, how it evades the most pointed declarations of the
Word, we would be amazed that the heart of Judas was not
overwhelmed with the conviction, " Thou, Lord, seest me." But
no ; the arrows of the Saviour, so faithfully directed, yet strike
off from his heart as from a flinty rock, and Judas still sits at the
table of the Lord, still secure, to receive with his bloody hands
(those hands which had so lately received the thirty pieces of silver,
the price of blood) the symbols of the Saviour's broken body, which
he himself was to betray. Ah ! my friends, are there no hearts
here like Judas', from which the plainest arrows of conviction,
having written on them, " Thou art the man," glance off", without
even wounding ? Are there none of you who sit, Judas-like, with
unclean hands to receive the memorials of the Saviour whom you
are betraying ?

4. And, last of all, when the feast of love was over, when Ju-
das, with unaffected conscience, had swallowed down the bread
and wine, whose sacred meaning he did not, and could not, know;
Jesus, deeply affected, " being troubled in spirit," made one last
effort, more pointed than all that went before, to thrust the arrow
of conviction into the heart of Judas. When the beloved John,
lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto him : " Lord, who is it? Jesus
answered, He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped
it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it" (unseen, it
would appear, by all the rest) " to Judas Iscnriot, the son of Simon.
And Jesus said unto him, That thou doest, do quickly." That this
pointed word of the Lord was intended to awaken Judas, and for
no other reason, is plain from the fact that " no man at the table
knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them
thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him,
Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that
he should give something to the poor." So secretly, but so power-
fully, did the Saviour seek to awaken the slumbering conscience
of the traitor. How was it possible he could miss the conviction
that Christ knew all the thoughts and ir'ents of his heart ? how
did he not fall down and confess that God was in him of a truth ;
or, like the Samaritan woman : " Come, see a man that told me

SERMON XXXII. 197

all things t'-at ever I did. Is not this the Christ?" But Satan had
his dark, mysterious hold upon him; and not more dark was the
gloomy night which met his eyes as he issued forth upon his mur-
derous errand, than was the dark night within his traitorous breast.
Now, brethren, the same Saviour is this day in the midst of us.
He walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, his eyes
are like a flame of fire, and he searcheth the reins and the hearts.
Think of this, you that are open sinners, and yet dare to sit down
at the table of Christ — swearers, drunkards, Sabbath-breakers, un-
clean. Ministers and elders may not know your sins : they are
weak and short-sighted men. Your very neighbors may not
know your sins ; you may hide them from your own family. It is
easy to deceive man ; but to deceive Christ is impossible. He
knows your whole history ; he is present at every act of dishonesty,
of filthiness, of folly. The darkness and the light are both alike
to him. Think of this, you that live in heart sins, rolling sin be-
neath your tongue as a sweet morsel ; you that put on the outward
cloak of seriousness and sobriety, that you may jostle and sit
down among the children of God ; you that have the speech of
Canaan in your lips, but hatred and malice, and the very breath of
hell in your hearts; you that have the clothing of sheep, but in-
wardly are ravening wolves : you that are whited sepulchres,
beautiful without, but within full of dead men's bones and all un-
cleanness. Think of this, you that know yourselves unconverted,
and yet have dared to sit down at the table of Christ. Christ
knows you, Christ could point to you, Christ could name you,
Christ could give the sop to you. You may be hidden to all the
world, but you are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom
you have to do. Oh ! that you would fall down beneath his pierc-
ing glance, and say : " God be merciful to me, a sinner !" Oh !
that every one of you would say : " Lord, is it I ?"

II. The second argument which Christ made use of to melt and
win the heart of Judas was his love : I have loved thee, Judas,
and came to save thee.

1. This was plainly his intention when washing the disciples'
feet. He did not shrink from the traitor's feet ; yes, he not only
stooped to wash the feet of those who were to forsake him and
flee ; he noc only washed the feet of Peter, who was, before cock-
crow, to deny him with oaths and curses ; but he washed also the
feet of Judas, the very feet which had gone, two days before, to
the meeting of priests in Caiaphas' palace, where he sold the Sa-
viour for thirty pieces of silver, the value of a slave ; and .t wag
in his hearing he spoke the gentle words : " If I wash thee not,
thou hast no part with me." If, then, the Saviour's washing the
feet of the eleven was so blessed a proof of his tenderness to his
own disciples, how much more is his washing the feet of him who
The knew) had betrayed him a proof of his love to sinners, even

198 SERMON XXXII.

the chief! lie willed not the death of Judas, he wills not the death
of any one of you. You think that, because you have betrayed
the Saviour, and come to the feast without any warrant or title,
an unbidden intruder, therefore Jesus cannot love you. Alas !
this shows your own heart, but not Christ's heart. Behold Jesus
washing the feet of Judas, and wiping them with the towel where-
with he was girded ; behold his anxiety to awaken and to win the
heart of the traitor Judas ; and then think how, the more you are
a traitor and a betrayer, the more doth Jesus pity you, and wait
upon you, willing still to wash and to save you, saying : " Turn
ye, turn ye, why will ye die ?"

2. The second instance of Jesus' love to the traitor is, when he
had sat down again, and was eating the passover along with the
twelve, he did not shrink from eating meat with the traitor.
Yes; he not only sat down to eat with the eleven who
were to forsake him and flee, he not only allowed John to
recline on his bosom, and Peter to sit at the table, but he suffered
Judas to dip his hand in the very same dish with him, even when
he knew that he was fulfilling that prophecy which is written :
" He that eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against
me." It was a blessed proof of the Saviour's love to his believ-
ing disciples, as is recorded by Luke, when he said : " With
desire have I desired to eat this passover with you before I suf-
fer." One would have thought that'to the eye of the Saviour this
passover must have appeared covered with threatening clouds,
involved in the deep gloom of the garden of Gethsemane, and
the bloody cross from which the sun himself hid his beams. You
always find, that when you are in immediate expectation of some
calamity, it renders gloomy and uninviting every event that
bespeaks its near approach. You would have thought, then, that
the human soul of Jesus must have shrunk back Irom this pass-
over with horror. But no ; he felt the shrinking of humanity
which more plainly showed itself in the garden, but his love for
his own disciples was stronger than all beside, and made him look
forward to this passover, when he was to picture out to them his
dying love more clearly than ever, with intense desire : " With
desire have I desired to eat this passover with you before I suf-
fer.'' But how much more wonderful is the proof of the Saviour's
love to the unbelieving, to those who care not for him, but are his
betrayers and murderers — when, with such divine complacency,
he dips his hand in the same dish with Judas, and tells him, at the
same time, that he does it not through ignorance, but that the
prophecy might be fulfilled : " He that eateth bread with me,
hath lifted up the heel against me."

Ah ! my unbelieving friends, I know well the dark suspicions
that lurk in your bosoms. Because you have done everything
against Christ, you think that he cannot have any love for you ;
*»ut behold, dark and proud sinners, how lovingly, how tenderly

SERMON XXXH. 199

he tries, if it may be, to awaken and to win over the heart of
Judas ! and then think how anxious he is this day to win and
awaken you, though you are of sinners the chief, to bow that
brazen neck, to break that heart of adamant, to wring a tear from
those eyes that never wept for sin.

3. The third instance of Jesus' love to the traitor is, his faith-
ful declaration of his danger to him : " The Son of Man goeth.
as it is written of him ; but woe unto that man by whom the
Son of Man is betrayed ! It had been good fur that man if
he had never been born." In the two former instances Jesus
had shown his love, by showing how willing he was to save him
to* the very uttermost, that be would bear all things to save
him ; but now he uses another way, .he shows him the terror of
the Lord, that if he will persist, " it had been good fur him that
he had not been born." As a mother, when she wishes her child
to take some wholesome medicine, first wins upon its love, and
then, if that will not do, tries to win upon its fears ; with the
same more than mother's tenderness did Jesus first try to win
upon the affections, and now upon the fears of Judas. And he is
the same Saviour this day in the upper chambers of the universe
that he was that night in the upper chamber at Jerusalem ; and he
sends his messengers to you to carry the same messages of kind-
ness and of love. It is only in love that he threatens you. And,
oh ! that in love we might speak the threatening to you, that if
you have no part in Jesus, and yet, by sitting down at his table
are becoming guilty of the body and blood of our Lord, it were
better for you that you had not been born. It is a happy thing to
live ; there is a blessedness which cannot be expressed in having
life. The fly that lives but fur a day, the veriest worm or insect
that crawls upon the ground, has an amount of blessedness in
the very fact that it lives, which it is far beyond the skill of
man to calculate. To breathe, to move, to feel the morning
sun and the evening breeze, to look out upon the green world
and the blue sky ; all this is happiness immense, immeasurable.
It never can be said of a fly or worm, that it had better never
been born ; but. alas ! it may be said of some of you : If you
are living, but not living united to Christ, if you are sitting at
the table of Christ and yet unconverted, it had been good for
you that you had not been born. Ah ! my friends, there was
once a heathen man who always wept, and got the name of
the Weeping Philosopher. One would almost think that he had
known this truth which we preach unto you, that if that union
which you make with the bread and wine at the holy table be
not a picture and a seal of the union between your soul and the
Saviour of sinners, you had far better never have bee'n born.
Better not to be, than to be only in hell. " They shall wish to
die, and shall not be able ; they shall seek to die, and death shall
flee from them."

200 SERMON XXXII.

4. The fourth and last instance of Jesus' love to the traitor ia
ihr must touching of all. After the supper was over, Jesus was
li't.uMt'd in spirit, and testified and said: "Verily, verily, I sa^
unto you, that one of you shall betray me." It was but a few
days before that he came riding down the declivity of Mount
Olivet upon an ass's colt ; and his disciples, behind and before,
\\ i TO all rejoicing and praising God, crying " Hosanna !" and Jesus
— what was he doing? He was weeping: " When he came near.
he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy
peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." He wept over,
the very city which he doomed to destruction. And just so here ;
when his disciples on every hand were filled with a holy joy, and
John most of all rejoicing, for he lay in the bosom of Immanuel,
what was Christ doing — the author of all their joy? He was
heavy and troubled in spirit. He was always the man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief, but now a ruffle of deeper sorrow
came over the placid calm of his holy features : he was troubled
in spirit, and said : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, One of you
shall betray me." He had tried all arguments to move his
betrayer ; he had unbosomed the tenderness of his love ; he had
shown the dreadfulness of his anger ; but when he saw that all
would not do to move his hard heart, when he saw the heartless
unconcern with which Judas could swallow down the bread, and
share in the blessed cup, the spirit of the Saviour sank within him;
and the last effort of his love to awaken the impenitent murderer
•;vas, to unbosom the depth of his sorrows, and to breathe out,
with many sighs, the words : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, that
one of you shall betray me."

My friends, there may be some within these walls with a heart
as hard as that of Judas. Like Judas, you are about to partake
of the most moving ordinance the world ever saw; like Judas,
you may eat of the bread and drink of the wine ; and like Judas,
your heart may grow harder, and your life more sinful than ever.
And you tltink, then, that Jesus is your enemy? But what does
the Bible say ? Look here ; he is troubled in spirit ; he weeps, as
he did over Jerusalem. Yes ; he that once shed his blood for
yeu, now sheds his tears for you. Immanuel grieves that you
will not be saved. He grieved over Judas, and he grieves over
you. He wept over Jerusalem, and he weeps over you. He has
uo pleasure that you should perish ; he had far rather that you
would turn and have life. There is not within these walls one of
you so hard, so cruel, so base, so unmoved, so far from grace and
godlines^, so Judas-like, that Jesus does not grieve over your
hardness; that you will still resist all his love; that you will stil
fove death, and wrong your own souls. Oh! that the tears which
the Saviour shed over your lost and perishing souls might fall
upon your hearts like drops of liquid fire ; that you might no more

SERMON XXXIII. 201

sit unmelted under that wondrous love which burns with so
vehement a flame, which many waters cannot quench, which all
your sins cannot smother, the love which passeth knowledge.
Amen.

t, Aug., 1836.

SERMON XXXIII.

I THE LOED HAVE CALLED THEE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.

' Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out ;
he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it ; he that giveth
breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein : I the
Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles ; to
open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that
ait in darkness out of the prison-house. I am the Lord ; that is my name : ami
my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."
Isa. xlii., 5-8.

IN this passage we have some of the most wonderful words that
ever were uttered in the world. It is not a man speaking to a
man, it is not even God speaking to a man, it is God speaking to
his own Son. Oh ! who would not listen ? It is as if we were
secretly admitted into the counsel of God — as if we stood behind
the curtains of his dwelling-place, or were hidden in the clefts of
the rock, and overheard the words of the Eternal Father to the
Eternal Son. Now, sometimes when you overhear a conversa-
tion on earth, between two poor, perishing worms, you think it is
worth treasuring up — you remember what they said — you repeat
it over and over again. Oh ! then, when you overhear a conver-
sation in heaven — when God the Father speaks, and God the Son
stands to receive his words, will you not listen ? will you not lay
up these sayings in your heart ? »

God tells the Son : 1. That he had called him to his service —
had passed over all his angels, and chosen him for this difficult
work. 2. He tells him that he is not to shrink from the difficulties
of it. There is an ocean of wrath to wade through, but fear not ;
I will hold thee by the hand — I will keep thee. 3. He tells him
that he must be given as a covenant Saviour. However dear to
his heart, still, says God, " I will give thee." 4. He encourages
him by the great benefit to be gained — that he would be a light to
whole nations of poor, blind, captive sinners. 5. That in all this
he would have his glory : " My glory will I not give to another,
nor rny praise to graven images."

Doctrine. — God has provided the Saviour, and alone can reveal
him ; and he will keep this glory to himself.

202 SERMON XXXIII.

T. God provided the Saviour. — He snys here : " I have called
tluv in ri^htoousiicsss." The meaning is : I have called thee to
do this work of righteousness — to work out this salvation, which
shall show me to be a righteous God. God did, as it were, look
round all the creatures, to see whom he would call to this great
work, of being a Saviour of lost sinners. He looked upon the
earth, through all its families ; but there was none that understood,
there was none that did seek God. Every man had his own curse
to bear ; no rnan could give a ransom for the soul of his brother,
for the ransom of the soul was precious. He looked round all the
blooming angels, as if to say. Who will go for me ? Seraphim
and Cherubim all stood, veiling their faces with their wings ; but
he saw that none of them could bear infinite wrath. They are
only creatures ; they would be crushed eternally under the weight
of my wrath. These will not do. He looked into his oicnbosom.
There was his eternal Son — his dear Son — his well-beloved Son.
Oh ! this will do. I have found a ransom ; I have laid help on one
who is mighty. My Son, I have called thee in righteousness.

Learn how complete a Saviour Christ is. God did not choose
a man to this great work — he did not choose an angel ; he passed
by them all, and chose his Son. Why ? Because he saw none
other would be a sufficient Saviour. If Christ had not been
enough, God never would have called him to it. God knew well
the weight of his own wrath ; and, therefore, he provided an
almighty back to bear it. Trembling sinner, do not doubt the
completeness of Christ. God knew all your sins and your wrath
ivhen he chose Christ — that they were both infinite ; and therefore
he chose an almighty, an infinite Saviour. Oh ! hide in him, and
you are complete in him.

II. God upheld the Saviour : " I will hold thine hand, and will
keep thee." The figure here seems taken from a father and his
little child. When a little child has to go over some very rough
road, or to travel in the darkness, or to wade through some deep
waters, he says to his father : I fear I shall be lost ; I shall not be
able to go through. Nay, do not fear, the father answers : " I
will hold thine hand ; I will keep thee." Such are the words o'
the Father to his dear Son. I would not have dared to have
imagined them, if I had not found them in the Bible. When God
called his Son to the work, it could not but be a fearful work in
his eyes. Christ knew well the infinite number of men's sins ; for
he is the searcher of hearts and trier of reins. He knew also the
infinite weight of God's anger against these sins ; he saw the dark
clouds of infinite vengeance that were ready to burst over the
head of sinners ; he saw the infinite deluge of eternal wrath that
was to drown for ever the guilty world ; and, oh ! how dreadful
his Father's anger was in his eyes ; for he had known nothing but
his infinite love from all eternity. Oh ! how could he bear to lie

SERMON XXXIII. 203

down under that wrath ? How could he bear to excnange the
smile of his Father's love for the dark power of his Father's
anger ? How could he bear, for the sake of vile sinners, to ex
change the caresses of that God who is love, for the piercings and
bruisings of his almighty hand ? Surely the very thought would
be agony. God here comforts his Son under the view : Yon sea
of wrath is deep — its waves are dreadful ; but " I will hold thine
hand ; 1 will keep thee."

1. Learn from this how dreadful the sufferings of Christ were.
He needed God to hold his hand ; he was God himself; thought
it no robbery to be equal with God ; he had the Spirit given to
him without measure: " I have put my Spirit upon him ;" but all
that would not do : God the Father must hold his hand too. Oh !
think what a weight must have been crushing and bruising the
Lamb of God, when Father, Son, and Holy Ghost combined their
force to hold him up. Oh ! think what a depth of agony must
have been upon him, when he cried : " What shall I say ? Father,
save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Take away
this cup from me" — and when the Father answered him: "I will
hold thine hand — I will keep thee." Oh ! my friends, this is a
great deep. Cry, " O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways past finding out !"

2. Learn the greatness of your sins. Remember Christ had no
sins of his own ; no wrath was due to himself; all that wrath he
bore was ours. You that are believers, you have but a small
sense of the greatness of your sins. Oh ! look here ; see God
holding the hand of his Son, while he wades through that sea of
wrath ! Oh ! surely a look at a suffering Christ should keep you
in the dust for ever. You must never open your mouth any
more. And, oh ! will you not love him who so loved you —
who lay down under these surges and billows of God's wrath for
you ?

You that are unconverted, see here the dreadful wrath that is
over your souls. You think your sins are very few, and God
will not be very angry. This is natural ; all natural men think
this ; and yet see here how dreadful the wrath is that is over you.
Even Christ trembled and started back when he came to bear it;
and how will you do ? You are not the Son of God ; you have
no divinity within you, as Christ had; how will you be able to
bear the bruisings ami lashings of God's infinite angor? You
h iv • not the Spirit of God given to you, as Christ had, without
m •a<ure ; how will you be able to stand under the outpourings of
his eternal indignation? You have not God to take you by the
hand. God is not your God, not your friend; he has nowhere
said that he will hold you by the hand ; ah 1 how will you wade
through an eternal and bottomless sea of wrath? How will you

304 SERMON XXXIII.

contend and fight against the fiery billows, where there is no crea-
ture, in heaven or in earth, to hold you by the hand ? Oh ! my
friends, it is because you are blind, that you have no fears. Christ
saw all that is before you, and it made him tremble ; you do not
see it, and therefore you do not tremble. You can be happy, and
smile, and sleep, and enjoy yourselves ; but your day of trembling
is at hand. Ah ! woe is me ! how will you stand upon the shore
of that fiery sea ? how you will hang back, and wish that you had
some one to hold you by the hand ; but it will be all in vain. Oh !
that you were wise, that you would remember your latter end;
that you would consider this.

3. Learn God's great hand in Christ's work. When a fathei
guides his child through some dark part of the road, or through
some rapid stream, holding him by the hand, this shows that the
father is interested in the journey of the child ; so, when God
says, " I will hold thee by the hand," this shows that God has a
great hand in Christ's work. In writing, if you hold the child's
hand, and guide the pen, then you have a great hand in the writing.
Just so did God hold the hand of the Saviour. The work is God';;
as much as Christ's. Oh ! that we might give him all the glory '.
Remember, he will not give his glory to another.

III. God gave Christ for a covenant : " I will give thee for a
covenant of the people." " God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not
perish." " Herein is love ; not that we loved God.'' God i.ot
only provided the Saviour, and upheld him, but he gave him, gave
him away, to be a covenant Saviour of the people, and a light to
lighten the Gentiles. When Abraham bound his son Isaac upon
the altar, and lifted up the knife to strike, this was giving away
his son at the command of God. This is just what God did. He
took his son out of his bosom, and gave him away to be bound, to
be a covenant Saviour of the people. There are not more won-
derful words in the whole Bible than these ; " / will give thee"
'• God spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up to the
death for us all." The Son was infinitely dear to the Father. God
cannot but love that which is perfectly holy and beautiful. Now,
such was Christ. From all eternity there had been the outgoings
of love and infinite admiration from the bosom of the Father to-
wards his well-beloved Son. Canst thou part with me ? Canst
thou give me up to the garden and the cross ? " / will give
thee." Sinners were infinitely vile in the sight of the Father.
God cannot but hate that which is enmity and rebellion to himself.
" He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity." How loathsome
and hateful this world must have been in his eyes, where every
heart was enmity against him ! Canst thou give me up for such
sinners, for the sake of such vile worms ! " Yes, / will give thee'

1. Learn the intense love of God for sinners. He spared not

SERMON XXXIII. 205

.us own Son. Herein is love. He loved the nappiness of his
Son; but he loved the salvation of sinners more. He loved to
have his Son in his bosom ; but he loved more to have sinners
brought into his bosom. He cast out his Son, in order to *ake us
m. Oh ! sinner, how will you escape, if you neglect so great a
salvation ?

2. Learn that God must have the glory of this. He will not
give his glory to another. Some awakened persons look to God
as an angry, inexorable judge ; but to Christ as a smiling Sa.
viour, that comes between us and an angry Father. Now, re
member, you will never come to peace as long as you think this.
This is robbing God of his glory. You must believe in Christ and
believe in God. God wishes you to honor the Son even as you
honor the Father ; but not more than you honor the Father. You
will never come to peace till you look to Christ as the gift of God,
till you see that the heart of God and Christ are one in this matter,
till God open a window in his breast, and show you the love
which provided, upheld, and gave up the Son.

IV. God gave Christ for a light : " I will give thee for alight."
It is God that causes the sun to rise every morning, so that the
dark shades of evening are scattered before him ; so it is God that
makes Christ rise upon the soul of a sinner.

1. By nature, men have blind eyes. They do not know the
beauty of Christ. They read of him in the Word, hear him
preached ; talked of; they see no form nor comeliness in him ; no
beauty that they should desire him. They have eyes, but they
see not. 2. By nature, men are bound in prison. They serve
divers lusts and pleasures ; they are bound to selfishness and pride,
and luxury, and lust ; these things compass them about as with a
chain. 3. By nature, men sit in a dark prison-house. They are
bound, but do not see that they are bound ; they do not see their
misery ; they sit — they do not strive to get free, but sit contented
and hnppy in their darksome dungeon. Oh ! unconverted souls,
what a picture this is of your condition ! Blind — in prison — con
tented in the dark dungeon. You will say, I feel it not ; I an
contented and happy. Ah ! does not this just show that this word
is true : You are blind, you do not see your misery ? When a
blind man is in darkness, he feels no pain from it. You are
chained ; you do not struggle ; you sit still in the prison-house. I
have often thought that your very ease and contentment might
awaken you to think that all is not right.

Now, learn, how a change comes : " I will give thee for a light
of the Gentiles." It is all the gift of God. Oh ! I fear, we little
understand this. There is much robbing God of his glory, even
among Christians. When God causes the sun to ris<;, then nothing
can make darkness. The mists and fogs cannot keep back the
beams of the sun ; so, when God causes Christ to rise on the sool

206 SERMON XXXIV.

then there is light. Revealing Christ docs the whole work for tha
soul. It awakens, it wins, it draws, it makes free, it makes holy.

Qnes. Has Christ been made to rise upon your soul ? If not,
then you are still blind, still in chains, and in the dark dungeon;
you have neither peace nor holiness. Oh! seek it from God • cry
to him, that Christ may give you light.

But, if Christ has been made to rise on your soul, happy are
you. You were sometime darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord. Walk as children of the light. Now, see who did it, and
give him the praise. It is the Lord. God gave Christ to be a
light to thy soul. Give him, and him alone, the glory. "My
glory I will not give to another." 1. Do not give the praise to
yourself; do not say, My own wisdom or my own prayers have
gotten me this. It was all undeserved mercy to the chief of sin-
ners. " My glory I will not give to another. 2. Do not give the
glory to ministers. They are often the instruments of bringing
souls to Christ, but they cannot make Christ arise on the soul,
any more than they can make the sun to rise on the earth.
We can point to the sun, though we cannot make it rise ; so,
we can point you to Christ, but cannot make him rise on your soul.
The work is God's, and he will have the glory. I believe the
work is greatly hindered amongst us from the cause mentioned.

Last. Plead with God to fulfil his word, that Christ may be a
light to the nations. It is as easy with God to make Christ rise on
many souls as upon one. Show him that it is for his glory that a
nation be born in a day. Give him no rest till he pour down the
Spirit on all our families, till there be a great looking unto Jesus, and
rejoicing in him. Take thine own glory, O Lord, give it to no
other ; neither thy praise to graven images.

•Sf. Peter's, Jan. 7, 1838.

SERMON XXXIV.

RETURN UNTO ME.

' • Remember these, 0 Jacob and Israel ; for thou art my servant : I have form? i
thee; thou art my servant: 0 Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I
have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins :
return unto me ; for I have redeemed thee." — Isa. xliv., 21, 22.

IN these words God contrasts the happy condition of his chosen
people with that of the poor blind idolaters whom he had been
describing in the verses before. Ah ! my friends, to the eye of
man, there may be little difference between the children of the
wicked one and the children of God ; but, to the eye of God, they
are as different as the chaff from the wheat, as the lily from the

SERMON XXXIV. 207

thorn. Of you that arc Christless, God says, " He feedeth on
ashes" (verse 20) ; but Jo you that are his children, " Remember
these, O Jacob." May God open our eyes to see wonders out of
this Scripture !

I. All that have come to Christ are forgiven : " I have blotted
out.'' — Verse 22.

1. Observe the completeness of their forgiveness : " I have blotted
out as a thick cloud." This complete forgiveness is many ways
showed forth in the Bible. 1st, It is compared to the change
produced on clothes by washing or dyeing them : " Though thy
sins be as scarlet, yet shall they be white as snow" (Isa. i., 18) ;
and again, " Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in his blood." 2d, Again, to something covered over:
" Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin
is covered." And Jesus says, " Buy of me white raiment, that
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do
not appear." 3d, Again, it is compared to something lost. He-
zekiah says, " Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back ;" Micah,
" Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." But
still they may be near at hand ? No : " As far as east is distant
from the west." — Ps. ciii., 12. But if God were to seek for them ?
"In those days, and in that time, shall the iniquity of Israel be
sought for, and there shall be none ; and the sins of Judah, and
they shall not be found." — Jer. 1., 20. 4th, To something for-
gotten : " Thy sins and thine iniquities will I remember no more."
" All his transgressions that he hath done, they shall not be men-
tioned unto him." 5th, To something blotted out. Although
they be washed, covered, lost, forgotten, yet they will still remain
in God's record, yes, they will ; but how ? — Blotted out.

Any of you that believe in Jesus, do you take the Son of God
as your Surety ? Take this word to yourself. See what the page
will be like on which thy sins are written. It will be one great
blot ; one thick cloud. When you look on the clouds, can you
read anything written there ? — no more can God read any of thy
sins, O believer in Jesus.

2. Observe, it is present forgiveness. It is not, I will blot out ;
but, " I have blotted out." Some say, I hope God will forgive me.
Ah ! my friends, you greatly mistake the Bible : a present forgive-
ness is offered to you. The moment a soul closes with Christ,
that moment is this word true of him : " I have blotted out."
" There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ
Jesus."

Ques. Has God blotted out your sins ? 1st, Most say I don't
know ; I never inquired. Oh ! sinner, if you never inquired, then
I will answer for you ; There is not one of them blotted out
Every evil thought, and word, and deed you have done, is written
•gainst you ; you will meet them all another day. A deceived

208 SERMON XXXIV.

heart hath turned thee aside, and thou dost not know that there is
a lie in thy right hand. 2d, Some say, It is impossible to tell ; I
never saw the book of God's remembrance; how can I tell?
True, you never saw the book of God's remembrance, and yet
there is another book, and if you would search it much, and be-
lieve the word concerning Jesus, you would come to know that
you are forgiven. Oh, yes ! it is quite possible. David tasted it,
and thousands since David have blessed God for forgiving all their
iniquities. The woman that touched the hem of Christ's garment
felt in herself that she was made whole. She was no physician,
and yet she knew that she was well. When a man has a burden
on his back, if you lift it off, he knows it at once ; so does the heavy '
laden soul that comes to Jesus, he finds rest.

3. Observe who blots: "I, even 'I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions." — Isa. xliii., 25. 1st, Some try to blot out their own
sins ; I will be grieved, and sorry for my sins, says one. I will
blot them out with tears. I will pray to God, and cover my past
sins with my earnest prayers, says another. I. will mend my life
and cover my naked soul with good deeds, says another. But no ;
this is all vain ; God alone can blot out. Either he will do it, or
it will not be done : " I, even I, am he." 2d, Some hope that
Christ will blot out their sins, unknown to the Father. They think
that Christ is very willing to be a Saviour, but not so the Father.
But no ; Christ and the Father are one. If you come to Christ,
God himself will do it, and will tell you, " I have done it."

Speak to unforgiven souls : Unhappy man ! You have many
pleasures and many friends ; but one thing you want — the forgive-
ness of sins. Do you think you would not be happier, lighter in
heart, if you were forgiven ? Oh ! how miserable are all your
daily employments and pleasures, when you know that hell is open-
ing its mouth for you. God has never blotted out your sins ; yet
you might be forgiven : " Unto you, O men, I call ; and my words
are to the sons of men." Come to Christ, and God will abun-
dantly pardon.

II. All that have come to Christ are God's servants. " Thou art
my servant, thou art my servant." Two reasons are given : 1. " I
have redeemed thee ;" 2. " I have formed thee." 1st, Because
redeemed. When a man consents that Christ shall be his Surety,
he feels that he is not his own, but bought with a price. So David
felt : " Truly I am thy servant ; I am thy servant, and the son of
thine handmaid : thou hast loosed my bonds." So Paul felt, when
he lay gasping on the ground : " Lord, what wilt thou have me to
do ?" Before conversion, the unconverted thinks that he is his
own : May I not do what I will with mine own ? He was the
willing slave of the devil. But when he sees the price laid down
for him, he feels that the Lord has redeemed him out of the house
of bondage. Now he says, I am the Lord's. Now he is more

SERMON XXXIV. 209

the servant of the Lc.a than ever he was of the devil. Oh ! dear
Christians, would that I could see more of this among you, a de-
voting of yourselves unto the Lord ; " for thou art my servant ,
thou art my servant." 2d, Because formed by God : " I made
thee, and formed thee from the womb." — Isa. xliv., 2. The whole
work of grace is the Lord's doing, and wondrous in our eyes.
Paul says : " It pleased the Lord, who separated me from my
mother's womb, to reveal his Son in me ;" and God to Jeremiah:
" Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee ; and before thou
earnest out of the womb, I sanctified thee." God marks his own
from their mother's womb. When infants, God treasures up every
prayer for them. Every mother's tears he puts into his bottle, her
sighs into his book. In boyhood, he preserves their souls from
death, gives them times of awakening, fixes words in their me-
mory : " I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." When
his time comes, he guides them to some fitting ministry ; or, by
some sore trial, awakens, leads to Christ, draws, wins, comforts,
builds the soul. He is a faithful Creator. " Sing, O heavens !
for the Lord hath done it." That soul becomes a servant in-
deed.

Some of you know that God has formed you. You can trace
liis hand, guiding you ever since you were born, girding you when
you did not know him, in the mother that wrestled for you, in dear
ones that prayed for you, now in their lonely grave, in the minis-
ters that you have been brought to, in the texts they have been
guided to. O be the Lord's servant ! let him bore thine ear. Bear
in your body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

III. Souls in Christ shall not be forgotten of God : " Thou shalt
not be forgotten of me." The children of God. often think their
God has forgotten them. Often, when they fall into sin and dark-
ness, they feel cut off from God, as if his mercies were clean gone
for ever. But learn here that God never forgets the soul that is
in Christ Jesus.

1. So it was with Moses in the land of Midian. For forty
years he thought God had forgotten his people. He wandered
about as a shepherd in the wilderness for forty years, sad and de-
solate. But h;id God really forgotten his people ? No ; he ap-
peared in a flaming fire in a bush, and said : " 1 have seen, I have
seen the affliction of my people, and I have heard heir groaning,
and am come down to deliver them ; for / know iheir sorrows."
God knows thy sorrows, O soul in Christ. 2. So it was with Du-
vid, in Ps. Ixxvii., xiii., and xxxi. 3. So it was with Hezekiah,
when God told him he must die. Hezekiah wept sore : " Like a
crane or a swallow so did I chatter ; I did mourn is a dove : mine
eyes fail with looking upward : O Lord, I am oppressed ; under-
take for me." Isa. xxxviii., 14. Did God forget him ? No ; God
•aid this word to him : " I have heard thy praver, I have seen thy
14

210 SERMON XXXIV.

ti ars; I will add unto thy days fifteen years." God never forgets
the soui in Christ. 4. So shall it be with God's ancient people:
" Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath for-
gotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
should not have compassion on the son of her womb ? yea, they
may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Isa. xlix. 14, 15. 5. So
it is in the words of the text : " Thou shall not be forgotten of
me." The world may forget thee, thy friends, thy father, thy
mother, may forsake thee ; yet " thou shalt not be forgotten of
me."

A word to souls in Christ. — The Lord cannot forget you. If
you stood before God in your own righteousness, then I see how"
you might be separated from his love and care ; for your frames
vary, your goodness is like the morning cloud and early dew.
But you stand before him in Christ : and Christ is the same yes-
terday, to-day, and for ever. You shall be held in everlasting
remembrance. The world may forget you, your friends may for-
get you, for this is a forgetting world, you may not have a tomb-
stone over your grave ; but God will not forget you, Christ will
put your name beside that of his faithful martyr, Antipas. In life,
in death, in eternity, thou " shall not be forgotten of me."

IV. A redeemed soul should return unto God : " Return unto me."
The sin and misery of every natural soul is in going away from
God. Adam hid himself from the presence of God. So Isaiah
complains ; " They have provoked the Holy One of Israel to an-
ger : they are gone away backward." And God says : " What
iniquity have ycur fathers found in me, that they are gone far from
me ?" " Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire ?
yet my people have forgotten me days without number." But
when a soul has come to Christ, there is no more reason why he
should return unto God. " Return unto me, for I have redeemed
thee." " Through Jesus, we both have access by one Spirit unto
the Father." " I am the way ; no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me."

Dear brethren in Christ, let me entreat you to return unto the
Father.

1. Come into the arms of his love. — When God has redeemed
a soul, he wants to have him in his arms, he wants to fall upon his
neck and kiss him. See how he tries to win the soul ! tells all
that he has done for him, all that he will do ; and adds : " Return
unto me ; for I have redeemed thee." Oh ! why are ye fearful,
ye of little faith ? Why do you hang back, and will not venture
near to God ? Why do you not run to him ? Some say : I am
afraid of past sins. Oh ! but hear his word : " I have blotted out.
Return unto me, for I have redeemed thee." Some say : I am
afraid he cannot wish such a sinful, weak thing as I beside him.
Oh 1 foolish, and slow of heart to believe his own word. Does he

SERMON XXXV. 211

not speak plain enough and kind enough? " Return unto me, for
I have redeemed thee."

2. Come into communion with him; daily walk with him
Enoch walked with God. Once Adam walked with God in pa-
radise, as easily, Herbert says, "as you may walk from one room
to another." He talked with him concerning his judgments. Oh !
come unto thy God, redeemed, forgiven soul. Acquaint thyself
with God, and be at peace. Come to him ; do not rest short of
him. You think it a great thing to know a lively Christian ; oh .
how infinitely better to know God. It is your infinite blessedness.
You will get more knowledge in one hour with God, than in all
your life spent with man. You will get more holiness from im-
mediate conversing with God, than from all other means of grace
put " together. Indeed, the means are empty vanity, unless you
come to God in them. " Return unto me ; for I have redeemed
thee."

3. To the backslider. — Guilty soul, you have been within the
veil ; you know the peace that Jesus gives ; you know the joy of
the smile of God. But you have left all this, and gone away
backward. Guilty soul, you have done worse than the world.
Worldly men never served Christ as you have done. They have
spit on him, and buffeted him, and crucified him ; but you have
wounded him in the house of his friends: "It was not an enemy
that reproached mo; then I could have borne it; but thou, my
friend and mine acquaintance." Guilty soul, what says God unto
thee ? " Depart thou cursed ?" No : " Return unto me : for I
have redeemed thee." "Return, O backsliding daughter; for I
am married unto you." Return, sinner, thy God calleth thee ; the
God that chose thee, the Saviour that died for thee, the Comforter
that renewed thee. " Return unto me ; for I have redeemed thee."

St. Peter's, July 8, 1838.

SERMON XXXV.

I WILL POUR WATER.

" For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground : I
will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and
they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses." — Isa.
Xliv., 3, 4.

THESE words describe a time of refreshing. There are no words
in the whole Bible that have been oftener in my heart, and oftener
on my tongue than these, since I began my ministry among you.
And yet, although God has never, from the very first day left us

212 SERMON XXXV.

without some tokens of his presence, yet he has never fulfilled thi>
promise ; and I have taken it up to-day, in order that we ma)
consider it more fully, and plead it more anxiously with God.
For, as Rutherford said, "My record is on high, that your heaven
would be like two heavens to me ; and the salvation of you all.
like two salvations to me."

1. Who is the author in a work of grace ? It is God : " I will
pour."

1. It is God who begins a work of anxiety in dead souls. So
it is in Zech. xii. : " I will pour out the Spirit of grace and sup-
plications, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced
and mourn." And so the promise is in John xvi. : " When he is
come, he will convince the world of sin ; because they believe not
on me." And so is the passage of Ezek. xxxvii. : " Come from the
four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may
live." If any of you have been awakened, and made to beat upon
the breast, it is God, and God alone that hath done it. If ever we
are to see a time of wide-spread concern among your families,
children asking their parents, parents asking their children, people
asking their ministers, " What must I do to be saved ?" if ever we
are to see such a time as Mr. Edwards speaks of, when there was
scarcely a single person in the whole town left unconcerned about
the great things of the eternal world, God must pour out the Spi-
rit : " I will pour."

2. It is God who carries on the work, leading awakened
persons to Christ. "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,'
"and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
delivered." Joel ii., 28, 32. And again, in John: "He shall
convince the world of righteousness." Jf ever we are to see souls
flying like a cloud, and like doves, to Jesus Christ, if ever we are
to see multitudes of you fleeing to that city of refuge, if ever we
are to see parents rejoicing over their children as new-born,
husbands rejoicing over their wives, and wives over their husbands,
God must pour out the Spirit. He is the author and finisher of a
work of grace : " I will pour."

3. It is God who enlarges his people. You remember, in
Zech. iv., how the olive trees supplied the golden candlesticks
with oil — they emptied the golden oil out of themselves. If there
is little oil,* the lamps burn dim ; if much oil, the lamps begin
to blaze. Ah ! if ever we are to see you who are children -of
God greatly enlarged, your hearts filled with joy, your lips filled
with praises ; if ever we are to see you growing like willows
beside the water-courses, filled with all the fullness of God — God
must pour down his Spirit. He must fulfil his word ; for he is
the Alpha and Omega — the author and finisher of a work of grace *
" I will pour."

First Lesson. — Learn to look beyond ministers for a work of

SERMON XXXV. 21?

grace. God has given much honor to his ministers ; but not
the pouring out of the Spirit. He keeps that in his own hand
" I will pour." " It is not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Alas ! we would have little
hope, if it depended upon ministers ; for where are our men of
might now 1 God is as able to do it for to-day as he was at
the day of Pentecost ; but men are taken up with ministers, and
not with God. As long as you look to ministers, God cannot
pour ; for you would s<iy it came from man. Ah ! cease from
man, whose breath is in his nostrils. One would think we would
be humbled in the dust by this time. In how many parishes of
Scotland has God raised up faithful men, who cease not day
and night to warn every one with tears ! and yet still the heavens
are like brass, and the earth like iron. Why 1 Just because
your eye is on man, and not on God. Oh ! look off man to him,
and he will pour ; and his shall be all the glory.

Second Lesson. — Learn good hope of revival in our day.

Third Lessor.— Learn that we should pray for it. We are
often for preaching to awaken others ; but we should be more
upon praying for it. Prayer is more powerful than preaching.
It is prayer that gives preaching all its power. I observe that
some Christians are very ready to censure ministers, and to
complain of their preaching — of their coldness — their unfaithful-
ness. God forbid that I should ever defend unfaithful preaching,
or coldness, or deadness, in the ambassador of Christ ! May my
right hand sooner forget its cunning ! But I do say, where lies
/he blame of unfaithfulness ? — where, but in the want of faith-
ful praying ? Why, the very hands of Moses would have fallen
down, had they not been held up by his faithful people. Come,
then, ye wrestlers with God — ye that climb Jacobs ladder —
ye that wrestle Jacob's wrestling — strive you with God, that he
may fulfil his word : " I will pour."

II. God begins with thirsty souls : " I will pour water upon him
that is thirsty."

1. Awakened persons. — There are often souls that have been^a
long time un ler the awakening hand of God. God has led them
into trouble, but not. into peace. He has taken them down into
the wilderness, and there they wander about in search of re-
freshing waters ; but they find none. They wander from moun-
tain to hill seeking rest, and finding none ; they go from well to
well, seeking a drop of water to cool their tongue ; they go from
minister to minister, from sacrament to sacrament, opening their
mouth, and panting earnestly ; yet they find no peace. These are
thirsty souls. Now, it is a sweet thought that God begins with
such : " I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." The whole
Bil>le shows that God has a peculiar tenderness for such as are
thirsty. Christ, who is the express image of God, had a peculiar

214 SERMON XXXV.

tenderness lor them : " The Lord God hath given me the tongue
of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season
to him that is weary." " Come unto me, all ye that are weary
and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." " If any man thirst,
let him come unto me and drink." Many of his cures were in-
tended to win the hearts of these burdened souls. The woman
that had spent all upon other physicians, and was nothing better
but rather worse, no sooner touched the hem of his garment,
than she was made whole. Another cried after him, " Lord, help
me," yet he answered not a word ; but at last said : "O woman,
great is thy faith ; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Another
was bowed down eighteen years ; but Jesus laid his hands on her,
and immediately she was made straight.

Weary sinner, (1.) This is Jesus ; this is what he wants to do
for you : " I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." Only be-
lieve that he is willing and able, and it shall be done. (2.) Learn
that it must come from his hand. In vain you go to other physi-
cians ; you will be nothing better, but rather worse. Wait on
him ; kneel and worship him. saying : " Lord, help me." (3.) Oh !
long for a time of refreshing, that weary souls may be brought
into peace. If we go on in this every-day way, these burdened
souls may perish — may sink uncomforted into the grave. Arise,
and plead with God, that he may arise and fulfil his word : "I will
pour water upon him that is thirsty."

2. Thirsty believers. — All believers should be thirsty; aias!
few are. Signs: 1. Much thirst after the Word. — When two
travellers are going through the wilderness, you may know which
of them is thirsty, by his always looking out for wells. How
gladly Israel came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water,
and seventy palm trees ! So it is with thirsty believers ; they
Dve the Word, read and preached, they thirst for it more ant
more. Is it so with you, dear believing brethren ? In Scotland
long ago, it used to be so. Often, alter the blessing was pro
nounced, the people would not go away till they heard more
Ah ! children of God, it is a fearful sign to see little thirst in you
I ,do not wonder much when the world stay away from GUI
meetings for the Word and prayer ; but, ah ! when you do, 1
am dumb, my soul will weep in secret places for your pride.
I say, God grant that we may not have a famine of ihe Word ere
long. (2.) Much prayer. — When a little child is thirsty for its
mother's breast, it will not keep silence ; no more will a child of
God who is thirsty. Thirst will lead you to the secret well,
where you may draw unseen the living water. It will lead you
to united prayer. If the town were in want of water, and thirst
staring every man in the face, would you not meet one with another,
and consult, and help to dig new wells ? Now, the town is in
want of grace, souls are perishing for lack of it, and you your-
selves are languishing. Oh! meet to pray. "If two of you

SERMON XXXV. 215

ghall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."
(3.) Desire to grow in grace. — Some persons are contented
when they come to Christ. They sink back, as it were, into ac
easy chair, they ask no more, they wish no more. This must not
be. If you are thirsty believers, you will seek salvation as much
after conversion as before it. " Forgetting those things which
are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus."

To thirsty souls. — Dear children, I look for the first drops of
grace among you, in answer to your prayers, to fill your panting
mouths. Oh, yes, he. will pour. " A vineyard of red wine, I the
Lord do keep it ; I will water it every moment : lest any hurt it,
I will keep it night and day." — Isa. xxvii., 2, 3. " With joy shall
ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." — Isa. xii., 3.

III. God pours floods on the dry ground. — The dry ground
represents those who are dead in trespasses and sins. Just as
you have seen the ground, in a dry summer, all parched and dry,
cracking and open, yet it speaks not, it asks riot the clouds to fall ;
so is it with most in our parishes. They are all dead and dry,
parched and withered, without a prayer for grace, without even
a desire for it. Yet what says God ? '• I will pour floods upon
them," Marks : —

1. They do not pray. — I believe there are many in our parishes
who do not make a habit of secret prayer, who, neither in
their closet nor in the embowering shade, ever pour out their
heart to God. I believe there are many who are dropping into
hell who never so much as said : " God be merciful to me, a sin-
ner." Ah ! these are the dry ground. Oh ! it is sad to think that
the souls that are nearest to hell are the souls that pray least
to be delivered from it.

2. They do not wish a work of grace in their souls. — I believe
many of you came to the house of God to-day who would rather
lose house, and home, and friends, than have a work of grace
done in your heart. Nothing would terrify you so much as the
idea that God might make you a praying Christian. Ah ! you
are the dry gtound ; you love death.

3. Those who do not attend to the preached Word. — I have
heard anxious persons declare that they never heard a sermon
in all their life till they were awakened, that they regularly
thought about something else all the time. I believe this is
the way with many of you. You are the dry ground. What
will God pour out on you ? Floods, floods of wrath ? No ;
floods of grace, floods of the Spirit, floods of blessing. Oh ! the
mercy of God, it passes all understanding. You deserve the
flood* that came on the world of the ungodly: but he offers

216 SERMON XXXV.

floods of blessing. You deserve the rain of Sodom ; but, behold
he offers floods of his Spirit.

First Lesson. — Learn how much you are interested that there
should be a work of grace in our day. You are the very persona
who do not care about lively preaching ; who ridicule prayer-
meetings, and put a mock on secret prayer ; and yet you are the
very persons that are most concerned. Ah ! poor dry ground
eouls, you should be the first to cry out for lively ministers ; you
should go round the Christians, and, on your bended knees, entreat
them to come out to our prayer-meeting. You, more than all the
rest, should wait for the fulfilment of this word ; for if it come
not, oh ! what will come of you ? Poor dead, dead souls, you '
cannot pray for yourselves ! One by one, you will drop into a
sad eternity.

Second Lesson. — Learn, Christians, to pray for floods. It is
God's word, he puts it into your mouth. Oh ! do not ask for drops,
when God offers floods. " Open thy mouth and I will fill it."

IV. Effects.

1. Saved souls will be like grass. They shall spring up as
grass. So, in Ps. Ixxii.: " They of the city shall be like grass of
the earth." Many will be awakened, many saved. At present,
Christ's people are like a single lily amongst many thorns ; but in
a time of grace they shall be like grass. Count the blades of
grass that spring in the clear shining after a rain ; so many shall
Christ's people be. Count the drops of dew that come from the
womb of the morning, shining like diamonds in the morning sun ;
so shall Chri-sit's people be in a day of his power. Count the stars
that sparkle in night's black mantle ; so shall Abraham's seed be.
Count the duet of the earth ; so shall Israel be in the day of an
outpoured Spirit. Oh ! pray for an outpoured Spirit, ye men of
prayer, that there may be many raised up in our day to call him
biessed.

2. Believers shall grow like willows. There is nothing more
distressing in our day than the want of growth among the chil-
dren of God. They do not seem to press forward, they do not
seem to be running a race. When I compare this year with last
year, alas ! where is the difference ? the same weaknesses, the
same coldness ; nay, I fear, greater languor in divine things.
How different when the Spirit is poured out ! They shall be like
willows. You have seen the willow, how it grows, ceases not
day or night, ever growing, ever shooting out new branches.
Cut k down, it springs again. Ah ! so would you be, dear Chris-
tians, if there were a flood-time of the Spirit, a day of Pentecost.
(1.) Then there would be less care about your business and your
workshop, more love of prayer and sweet praises. (2.) There
would be more change in your heart, victory over the world, the
devil, and the flesh. You would come out, and be separate. (3.)

SERMON XXXVI. 217

In affliction, you would grow in sweet submission, humility
meekness. There was a time in Scotland when Sabbath-days were
growing days. Hungry souls came to the Word, and went away
filled with good things. They came like Martha, and went away
like Mary. They came like Samson, when his locks were shorn,
and went away like Samson when his locks were grown.

3. Self-dedrcation. " One shall say, I am the Lord's.'' Oh !
there is no greater joy than for a believing soul to give himself all
to God. This has always been the way in times of refreshing.
It was so at Pentecost. First they gave their ownselves unto the
Lord. It was so with Boston, and Dodd ridge, and Edwards, and
all the holy men of old. " I have this day been before God," says
Edwards, "and have given myseif — all that I am and have — to
God ; so that I am in no respect my own. I can challenge no
right in myself, in this understanding, this will, these affections.
Neither have I right to this body, or any of its members ; no
right to this tongue, these hands, these feet, these eyes, these ears.
I have given myself clean away." Oh ! would that you knew the
joy of giving yourself away. You cannot keep yourself. Oh !
this day try and give all to Him. Lie in his hand. Little children,
O that you would become like him who said : " I am God's boy
altogether, mother !" Write on your hand ; " I am the Lord's."
St. Peter's, July 1,1838.

SERMON XXXVI.

>v» •

GOD LET NONE OF HIS WORDS FALL TO THE GROUND.

« Samuel grew and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the
ground!" — 1 Sam. iii., 19

IT has long been a matter of sad and solemn inquiry to me, what
is the cause of the little success that attends the preaching of the
Gospel in our day, and, in particular, in my own parish. Many
reasons have risen up before me.

1. There are reasons in ministers. (1.) The flocks are too
large to be cared for by the shepherd. My own flock is just four
times the size a flock used to be in the days of our fathers ; so that
I am called upon to do the work of four ministers, and am left, like
Issacliar, couching down between two burdens. ' (2.) Again, there
is little union in prayer among the ministers. Heartburnings and
jealousies, and cold suspicions, seem to put a sad bar in the way to
this so necessary union. (3.) Again, comparing ministers now with
ministers long ago, it is to be feared there is not that longing
for the conversion of their people which there used to be ; little

218 SERMON XXXVI.

weeping between the porch and the altar ; little wrestling with
God in secret for a blessing on the Word ; little travailing in birth
till Christ be formed in their people the hope of glory. It is said
of the excellent Alleine, that he was " infinitely, insatiably greedy
of the conversion of souls." It is to be feared there is little of this
greediness now. Matthew Henry used to say : " I would think it
a greater happiness to gain one soul to Christ, than mountains of
silver and gold to myself." We have few Matthew Henrys now
Samuel Rutherford used to say to his flock : " My witness is above,
that your heaven would be two heavens to me ; and the salvation
of you all as two salvations to me."* Oh that God would give us
something of this Spirit now !

2. There are reasons in Christians. (1.) There seems little
appetite for the word among Christians. I do not mean that there
is little hearing — oh, no — this is an age for hearing sermons ; but
there is little hearing the Word for all that. " One says : I am of
Paul ; and another, I of Apollos ; and I of Cephas ; and I of
Christ." You come to hear the word of man, but not the word
of God. You go away judging and criticising, instead of laying
it to heart. Oh, for the time when Christians, like new born
babes, would desire the sine 3re milk of the Word, that they might
grow thereby ! (2.) Little prayer. Two farmers possessed two
fields that lay next to each other. The one had rich crops, the other
very scanty ones. " How comes it," said the one to the other, " that
your fields bear so well, and mine so poorly, when my land is as
good as yours T " Why. neighbor," said the other, " the reason is
this, you only sow your field, but I both sow mine and harrow in the
seed." Just so, my dear friends, there is little fruit among Chris-
tians, because there is little harrowing in by prayer. I think I
could name many Christians among you who do not know one
another and never pray with one another. What wonder that
ther 3 is little fruit !

3. Reasons in unconverted. (1.) There is much keeping away
from the house of God. I suppose there are at least a thousand
persons in my parish who never enter the house of God. Ah !
how shall we catch these souls, when they keep so far from the
net ? (2.) Again, many come only in the afternoons. The very
souls that have the most need to hear are those which come but
once. How do you expect a work of God, when you cast such
open contempt upon his ordinance ? (3.) Again, how many keep
out of the way when we visit in your houses, lest some word
should strike upon your conscience, and you should convert and
be healed ! How often, when I preach in your houses, do I find
ten women for every man ! Have the men no souls that they keep
away from God's holy ordinance ? (4.) Again, there is an awful
profaning of the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper.

• Robert Bruce— John Welsh.— Revivalist, No. 74.

SERMON XXXVI. 21 &

The whole Bible declares that they are intended only for those
who have been born ngain ; yet how many rush forward to them
with mad and daring hand, drawing down the curse of a seared
conscience and a stony heart !

These are painful truths — enough to break the heart of any
Christian man that labors among you. Ah ! where is the wonder
that God should be a stranger in the land, and like a wayfaring
man, that turns aside to tarry for a night ? And yet this word
comes like a beam of sunshine in a storm ; God be praised for it !
" Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did~let none of
his words lall to the ground." Samuel was young in years, and
it pleased God to cast him in days just as wicked as ours ; and
how did God encourage him ? In two ways. 1st, God was with
him. — God stood at his right hand, so that he could not be moved.
2d, God did let none of his words fall to the ground. May the
Lord give us both these encouragements this day !

Doctrine. — God will not let one word of his ministers fall to the
ground.

I. The Word often works visibly.

In most cases a work of grace is very visible. 1. When the
Spirit awakens the soul to know its lost condition, there are very
generally evident marks of awakening. The jailor trembled, and
sprung in, and fell down, and said : " What must I do to be saved ?*'
So it is commonly. This is not to be wondered at. If a man be
m danger of losing all his money, or his wife, or child, he wi'.l
often weep, and tremble, and wring the hands, and cry, Woe ie
me, I am undone. And is there less cause for weeping and
vrernbling, if a man be in danger of losing his own soul ? 2. When
the soul is brought to peace, there is in general an evident change.
" The woman stood behind Christ's feet weeping. She washed
them with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed them." So it is commonly. The bosom is brought to
rest ; the eyes are filled with tears of joy ; there is a lively at-
tendance on the Word of God ; an exultation in singing his praises ;
the Sabbath is now plainly honored and kept holy ; sinful com-
panions are forsaken. Ah ! my dear friends, it is my heart's de-
sire and prayer, that these outward marks of a work of grace were
more common in the midst of you. I fear there can be no exten
give work of grace, where these are wanting.

II. The Word may be working unseen.

In some cases the work of grace is quite invisible. I believe
that God, for wise reasons, sometimes carries on a work of grace
in the heart, secretly and unknown to all the world but to himseJf.
There are three things make me think so: —

1. Christ compared the kingdom of heaven in the heart to leaven
and to seed : " The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which

£20 SERMON XXXVI.

a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole
was leavened." Now, you know that the process of leavening
goes on a long time in the heart of the meal quite unseen ; so may
the work of grace. Again : " So is the kingdom of God as if a
man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise
night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knowefh
not how." — Mark iv., 6. Now you know the growing of the
seed beneath the cloud is all unseen ; so is it often with the work
of grace.

2. Who is the workman in conversion ? It is the Spirit of God.
Now he works unseen, like the wind : " The wind bloweth where
it listcth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell
whence it cometh, or whither it goeth ; so is every one that is
born of the Spirit." He works like the dew : " I will be as the
dew unto Israel." Now, no man ever yet heard the dew falling.
He works like the well. " The water that I shall give him shall
be in him a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life."
If the Spirit work so secretly, no wonder if his work is sometimes
unseen.

3. So it has been in fact: Elijah cried, "I, even I, am left
alone." How surprised was he to find seven thousand who had
never bowed the knee to Baal ! So shall it be in the latter day :
" Then shall thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these,
seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and
removing to and fro ? and who hath brought up these ? Behold
I was left alone; these, where had they been ?" — Isa. xlix., 21.

Encouragement to godly parents, and teachers, and ministers. —
I know some of you have long been watching for a work of grace
in your children's hearts. Learn this day that God will not let
one word fall to the ground. His word shall not return to him
void. But you say, Alas ! I see no marks of grace. Go to the
dough when the leaven has been thrust in, and it is covered up.
Do you see any marks of leavening? No, not one. Still the
work is going on beneath. So it may be in your child. Go to
the field when the seed has been covered in. Do you see any
marks of growing ? No, not a green speck. Still the work is

g)ing on. Turn up the clod, and you will see the seed sprouting.
ave patience ; weary not in well-doing. Be instant in prayer.
God will be faithful to his promise. He will not let one word fall
to the ground.

III. The Word may take effect another day.

1. It is a curious fact in natural history, that seeds may be
preserved for almost any length of time. Seeds that have been
kept in a drawer for many years, yet, when sown in their proper
season, have been known to spring up, as if they had been but
a year old. So it may sometimes be with the seeds of grace.
They may be kept long in the soul without in the least affecting

SERMON XXXVI. 22V

it, and yet may be watered by the Spirit, and grow up many days
after.

2. In general it is not so. — It is the testimony of an old divine,
who was indeed a master in Israel : " That the main benefit
obtained by preaching is, by impression made upon the mind at
the time, and not by remembering what was delivered."* And
what says the Scripture : " Is not my Word like as a fire, and
like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ?" Now you
know that if the fire burns not when it is applied, it will not burn
afterwards. If the rock does not break when the hammer strikes,
it is not likely to break afterwards. Oh ! my dear friends, to-day,
while it is called to-day, harden not your hearts. If your hearts
do not break under the hammer to-day, I fear they will never
break. If they melt not now, under the fire of his love, I fear
they will never melt.

3. In some cases, the Word takes effect another day. One
faithful man of God labored in his parish for many a Jong
year; and though greatly blessed elsewhere, yet died without, I
believe, knowing one of his people brought to the knowledge of
the Saviour. Another servant now stands in his room ; and
souls have been gathered in in crowds, every one declaring that
it is the word of their departed minister that comes up into their
heart, and makes them flee. Ah ! God is a faithful God. He
will not let any of his words fall to the ground.

The excellent John Flavel was minister of Dartmouth, in Eng-
land. One day he preached from these words : " If any man love
not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha." The
discourse was unusually solemn, particularly the explanation of
the curse. At the conclusion, when Mr. Flavel rose to pronounce
the blessing, he paused, and said, <; How shall I bless this whole
assembly, when every person in it who loves not the Lord Jesus
is ;mathema maranatha?" The solemnity of this address deeply
affected the audience. In the congregation was a lad named
Luke Short, about fifteen years old, a native of Dartmouth.
Shortly after he went to sea, and sailed to America, where he
passed the rest of his life. His life was lengthened far beyond
the usual term. When a hundred years old, he was able to
work on his farm, and his mind was not at all impaired. He had
lived all this time in carelessness and sin ; he was a sinner a
hundred years old, and ready to die accursed. One day, as he
sat in his field, he busied himself in reflecting on his past life.
He thought of the days of his youth. His memory fixed on Mr.
Flavel's sermon, a considerable part of which he remembered.
The earnestness of the minister, the truths spoken, the effect on
the people, all came fresh to his mind. He felt that he had
not loved the Lord Jesus ; he feared the dreadful anathema ; he

• Edwards, 394.

SERMON XXXVI

\vas deeply convinced of sin, was brought to the blood of sprink-
ling. He lived to his one hundred and sixteenth year, giving
every evidence of being born again. Ah ! how faithful God is
to his word. He did let none of his words fall to the ground.

Be of good cheer. Christian mothers, who weep over your un-
awakened children. They may be going far from you, perhaps
across the seas, and you tremble for their souls. Remember God
can reach them everywhere. A believing mother never prayed ii.
vain. Be instant in prayer. God will not forget his word. He
will let none of his words fall to the ground.

IV. The Word may harden. In some cases, I believe, the Word
of God is sent to harden souls ; and so it will not return void, but
prosper in the thing whereto he sent it. That was an awful mes-
sage God sent by his prophet : " Hear ye indeed, but understand
not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not." — Isai. vi., 9. I fear
there are many such messages in our day.

Ques. Does God not wish men to be saved? Ans. O yes ; God
willeth all men to be saved. I believe there is not one soul that
the Saviour does not yearn over as he did over Jerusalem ; and
the Father says, " O that they had hearkened unto me, and Israel
had walked in my ways !" But still, when Jerusalem resisted the
word of Christ, Christ said, "Now they are hid from thine eyes."
And if you refuse the Word of Christ, and neglect this great
salvation, I firmly believe that he shall soon come to you with
Isaiah's dreadful message, " Hear ye indeed, but understand not."

Oh ! how dreadful a thought it is, that though we be the savor
of life unto life to some, We are the savor of death unto death to
most How dreadful, that the very words of love and mercy
which we bring, should be making some souls only more fit for
the burning ! And yet it must be so. How often have I heard
men of God complain that their greatest fruit was when they
entered first upon their ministry ! I do begin to fear that it is
going to be so with us, that God hath chosen out his first-fruits,
and the rest are to be hardened. Why was this ? Because the
people are hardened by the constant preaching of the truth.

My dear friends, remember this word : " God did let none ot
his words fall to the ground." I have gone among you for more
than a year, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. Remember,
the word was not mine, but His that sent me. I would have been
ashamed to stand up and speak my own words. If the hammer
does not break, it makes the iron into steel. Every blow makes
it harder. If the fire does not melt, it hardens the clay into brick,
as hard as stone. If the medicine does not heal, it poisons. If the
word concerning Christ does not break your heart, it will make it
like the nether millstone.

V. For a witness. — That is an awful word in Matt, xxiv., 14 •

SERMON XXXVI. 223

" And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the
world, for a witness unto all nations." Ah ! my dear friends,
God's word cannot return unto him void. Every drop of rain
has its errand Irom God. These driving showers of snow are all
fulfilling his word. And do you really think that the word con-
cerning his Son shall be spoken without any end ? Ah, no ! even
though not one soul should be saved by it. It shall be for a wit-
ness. When Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness,
if the Israelites had been unwilling to look, I can easily imagine
the haste with which he would go round the camp, crying to every
dying man : Look here, look there. Two things would be in his
mind ; 1st, To get his people healed ; 2d, To give glory to his
God, by beaming witness to them of the love of God ; as if he hud
said : Now, if you perish, it is your own blame ; God is clear of
your blood. So is it with the Christian minister. You remember
Paul, how he was " instant, in season and out of season," " teach-
ing publicly, and from house to house, warning every one day
and night with tears ;" " in labors more abundant ; in stripes
above measure ; in prisons more frequent ; in deaths oft." W hy
all this? Ans. For two reasons: 1st, He wanted souls to be
saved. " He was infinitely and insatiably greedy of the conver-
sion of souls." 2d, He sought the honor of God. He wanted to
preach th^ Gospel for a witness ; to leave every man without ex-
cuse for remaining in his sins ; as if he had said : Now if you
perish, it >s your own blame ; God is clear of your blood.

Ah ! my dear friends, such is our ministry to many of you. It
is for a witness. God, who knows my heart, knows that I seek
your salvation night and day. " My record is above, that your
heaven would be two heavens to me ; and your salvation as two
salvations to me." Yet if you will not learn, I will be a witness
against you in that day. The words that we have spoken in
weakness, and much trembling, will rise to condemn you in that
day. How fain would 1 see you gathered with the ransomed
flock, on the right hand of the throne ! How fain, in that day,
would I see you smiled on by the lovely Saviour, whose smile is
more bright than the summer sun ! But, if it may not be, I will
say with the angels, " Hallelujah !" — " Even so, Father ; for so it
B^emed good in thy sight." — Amen.

«/. Peter's, Feb 25, 1838.

£24 SERMON XXXVIJ.

SERMON XXXVII.

THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT.
" And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." — Gen. i., 2.

THERE is, perhaps, no subject upon which there is greater igno-
rance than that of" the Spirit of God. Most people, in our day, if
they answered truly, would say as those twelve men of Ephesus:
" We have not so much as heard if there be any Holy Ghost." — •
Acts xix. And yet, if ever you are to be saved, you must know
him ; for it is all his work to bring a poor sinner to Christ. A
little boy, when dying, said : " Three persons in the Godhead.
God the Father made and preserved me ; God the Son came into
the world and died for me ; God the Holy Ghost came into my
heart, and made me love God and hate sin." My dear friends, if
you would die happy, you must be able to bear the same dying
testimony. You know it is said in John, that " God is love." This
is true of God the Father in his giving up his Son for sinners ; this
is true of God the Son, in his becoming man and dying for sin-
ners ; this is true of God the Holy Ghost, in his whole work in the
heart of sinners. At present I wish to show you the love of the
Spirit, by observing all that he has ever done for men in the
world. To-day I will show you his work at creation ; at the
flood ; in the wilderness.

I. At creation : " The Spirit of God moved upon the face of
the waters." — Gen. i., 2. The expression is taken from a dove
brooding over its nest. " Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are
created ; and thou renewest the face of the earth." — Ps. civ.
Here the Spirit is said to have renewed the face of the earth.
He made every blade of grass to spring, every flower to open,
every tree to put forth blossoms. " By his Spirit he hath gar-
nished the heavens." — Job. xxvi., 13. Here God does, as it were,
lead us forth to look upon the midnight sky ; and when we gaze
upon its spangled maze, studded with brilliant stars, he tells us
lhat it was the loving Spirit that gave them all their brightness
and their beauty. Observe, then, that whatever beauty there is
in the glassy sea, in the green earth, or in the spangled sky, it
is all the work of the Holy Spirit. God the Father willed all,
God the Son created all, God the Holy Ghost garnished, and gave
life and loveliness to all. Oh ! what a lovely world that unfallen
world must have been, when God the Son walked with Adam in
Paradise, when God the Holy Ghost watered and renewed the
whole every moment, when God the Father looked down well
pleased on all, and said that all was very good.

Learn, 1. The love of the Spirit. — He did not think it beneath

SERMON XXXVII. 225

his care to beautify the dwelling-place of man. He wanted our
joy to be full. He did not think it enough that we had a world
to live in, but he made the waters full of life and beauty. He
made every green thing to spring for man, and made a shining
canopy above, all for the joy of man. Whatever beauty still
remains on earth, or sea, or sky, it is the trace of his Almighty
finger. You should never look on the beauties of the world with-
out thinking of the Holy Spirit that moved upon the face of the
waters, that renewed the face of the earth, that garnished the hea-
vens with stars.

2. The holiness of the Spirit. — From the very beginning he
was the Holy §pirit, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. It
was a sinless world. The sea had never been defiled by bearing
wicked men upon its bosom. The green earth had never been
trodden by the foot of a sinner. The spangled sky had never
been looked upon by the eye of one whose eye is full of adultery,
and cannot cease from sin. It was a holy, holy, holy world, a
temple of the living God, the lofty mountains were the pillars of it ;
the glittering heavens its canopy. The far-resounding ocean
sang his praise. The hills brake forth into singing, and all the
trees of the field clapped their hands. As the cloud which so
filled Solomon's temple that the priests could not stand to
minister by reason of the cloud ; so the Holy Spirit filled this
world, a holy, sinless temple to the Father's praise. When man
fell into sin, and the very ground was cursed for his sake, then
the Holy Spirit in great measure left his temple ; he could not
dwell with sin. And never do you find him coming back, as
before, till he lighted on the head of a sinless Saviour ; for the
Holy Ghost descended upon him like a dove, and abode upon him.
Just so is it with the soul. — As long as your soul is guilty,
polluted, vile, in the sight of the Spirit, he cannot make his abode
in your heart. He is a loving Spirit, full of a tender desire to
make you holy. But as long as you are guilty in his sight, it is
contrary to his nature that he should dwell in you. But come to
the blood of Jesus, sinner ; come to the blood that makes you
white as snow, then will the Spirit see no iniquity in you, and he
will come and dwell in your heart, as he dwelt at first in the sin-
less world. As he moved on the face of the waters, like a dove
over its nest, so he will make his nest in your heart, and brood
there. As he renewed the face of the ground, so will he renew
your heart. As he garnished the heavens, so will he beautify
your soul, till he make you shine as the stars for ever and ever.

II. At the flood. — " My Spirit shall not always strive with man.
for that he also is flesh (fading) : yet his days shall be an hundred
and twenty years." — Gen. vi., 3. What a different scene we have
here ! Yet here also we shall learn that the Holy Spirit is a lov-
ing Spirit. At the creation we found him beautifying the world
15

226 SERMON XXXVII.

dwelling in it as in a temple ; the earth, the sea, the sky, all pro-
claiming that it was a sinless world. But now fifteen hundred
years had passed away, and the whole earth was covered with a
race of godless men, giants in body and giants in wickedness.

«* God looked upon the earth, and it was con~u.pt." — It was all
one putrid mass. " From the sole of the foot to the crown of the
head there was no soundness in it ;" for all flesh had corrupted his
way. Just as a putrid body is loathsome in the sight of man, so
the earth was loathsome in the sight of God. Nay, more ; the
earth was filled with violence. The few children of God that re-
mained were hated and persecuted, hunted like the partridge on
the mountains. It repented the Lord that he had made man, and
it grieved him at his heart. How is the Holy Spirit engaged ?
Ans. 1. He does not dwell with sinful men. He cannot dwell
with unpardoned sinners ; for he is the Holy Spirit. 2. But still
he strives with men, and strives to the very end. The men were
giants in sin. Every imagination of their heart was only evil con-
tinually. But this is the very reason he strives. He sees the flood
that is coming, he sees the hell that is beneath them ; therefore
does he strive. In the preaching of Noah he pleaded with them;
he pricked their hearts, made them think of their danger, their sin,
their misery. In the preparing the ark he pleaded with them,
showed them the way of safety, and said : " Yet there is room."
He made every stroke of the hammer go to their hearts. *' The
Spirit and the Bride said, Come."

Learn, 1. That he is a striving Spirit. — O ! let those of you that
are living in sin, learn what a loving Spirit is now striving with
you. Some of you, who are living in sin, think that God is nothing
but an angry God ; therefore you do not turn to him. True, " he
is angry with the wicked every day ;" still he is striving with the
wicked every day. He sends the Holy Spirit to strive with
you. Oh ! what a loving Spirit he is, that does not at once
turn you into hell, but pleads and strives, saying : " Turn ye, turn
ye ; why will ye die ?"

Some may say : I am a giant in wickedness, I am corrupt, I am
violent against God's children. True ; yet still see here how he
strove with giants in wickedness. The whole earth was corrupt,
and filled with violence ; yet he strove. So he strives with you
in whatever state you are. He is a loving Spirit. He strives by
ministers, Bibles, providences. Sometimes, when you are all alone,
that Spirit wrestles with you, brings your sin to remembrance, and
makes you tremble ; or, like the angels at Sodom, strives to make
you flee from destruction. Oh ! what love is here, to strive with
hell-deserving worms. " Oh ! ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in
heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as your
fathers did, so do ye."

2. A long-suffering Spirit. — One hundred and twenty years he
•trove with the men before the flood. He never ceased till the

SERMON XXXVII. 227

flood came. Some of you remember a time when God's Spirit
was striving with you at the Sabbath school, or your first sacra-
ment. You wept for your soul, and prayed ; but the world has
come on you since then, and now you fear he strives no more.
Learn, he is a long-suffering Spirit, he strives with you yet. " He
that hath ears, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.
3. He will not always strive. — Observe, the Spirit strove till the
flood came, but no longer ; for the flood came, and carried them
all away. So it is with you, my dear friends. As long as our
ministry lasts, he strives with you ; but when death comes, or
when the Saviour comes, he will strive no more. Ah ! yo'.i will
have no awakening, inviting, striving sermons in hell, not one in-
vitation more. Oh ! how sad it is to think that so many, who have
the Spirit of God striving with them, should perish after all.

III. In the wilderness. — Nearly one thousand years after the
flood, we find God choosing a peculiar people to himself, and keep-
ing them separate from all people, in the wilderness. Here the
Spirit shows himself still more as the loving Spirit.

1. Tfie glorifier of Christ. — Bezaleel and Aholiab, by his guid-
ance, make the tabernacle, the mercy seat, the altar, the high
priest's garments. — Exod. xxxi., 1-11. All these typify Christ.
The Spirit here enables these men to show forth the Saviour to
the many thousands of Israel. Although they often vexed the
Holy Spirit, and grieved him in the desert, yet, see here how lov-
ingly he sets forth Christ in the midst of them, that he may lead
them to peace and holiness ! This is exactly what Christ said of
him afterwards: " He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of
mine, and shall show it unto you."

Dear friends, has the Spirit glorified Christ to you? He is still
the great revealer of Christ. He shines into our heart, to give us
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of
Christ. Has he led you to the altar, to the Lamb of God, that
taketh away the sin of the world ? Has he clothed you in the
high priest's garments ? Has he brought you within the veil, to
the mercy seat? This is his delightful work. Oh ! it is a sweet
work to be the minister on earth that leads souls to Christ, that
points, like John, and says : " Behold the Lamb of God." But O
how infinitely more loving in th;it Holy Spirit of God to lead
trembling souls to Jesus ! Oh ! praise him that has done this for
you. Oh ! love the Spirit of GoH. " Thy Spirit is good : lead me
to the land of uprightness."

2. He purifies all that believe : " Thou shall set the laver
between trie tent of the congregation and the altar." Exod. xl.,
6v 7. This brazen laver, containing water, was set up in the
wilderness to typify the Holy Spirit ; and observe the place where
it was put, between the altar nrnl the tabernacle of God. The
first thing that the sinner came up to w;is the ;i!tar with the

22S SERMON XXXVII.

bleeding lamb. He laid his hands upon the head of the lamb
and confessed his sins ; so that they were carried all away in the
blood of the lamb. Forgiven and justified, he advanced a few
paces further to the brazen laver ; there he washed his feet and
hands. This represented the Holy Spirit washing and -enewing
his heart, and then he entered into the holy place of God.

•• Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for
our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scrip-
ture, might have hope." Dear friends, has the Holy Spirit purified
you? If you have laid your sins upon the Lamb of God, have
you come to this laver of living water ? are you really washing
there, and preparing to enter into the holy place, made without
hands, eternal in the heavens ? " Without holiness no man can
see the Lord ;" and without the Spirit you will have no holiness.
Oh ! is he not a loving spirit who thus delights to prepare the be-
liever for glory, who comes into our vile heart, and " creates a
clean heart, and renews a right spirit within us?" Oh ! love him
who thus loves you ; and ask for him, you that are his children.
The Father delights to give him. " If ye, being evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, much more will your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?"

3. He upholds the life of believers : " They all drank of that
Rock which followed them ; and that Rock was Christ." 1 Cor.
x.. 4. This was a third way in which the Spirit showed himself
in the wilderness. (1.) A river. This was to show Israel how
refreshing and supporting he is to the weary soul, and that there
is abundance in him. Drink, and drink again ; you will not drink
a river dry ; so there is infinite fulness of the Spirit. (2.) Flowing
from a smitten rock. This shows that he is given by a wounded
Saviour ; that it is only when we hide in that Rock that we can
receive the Holy Ghost. "I will send him unto you." (3.) It
followed them. This was to show that, wherever a believer goes,
the Holy Spirit goes with him. "I will pray the Father, and he
will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for
ever;" a well within, springing up into everlasting life.

My dear friends, have you received the Holy Ghost, since you
believed? It appears to me that few Christians realize this river
flowing after them. Oh ! what inexpressible love and grace there
is in this work of the Spirit. Is there any of you weak and faint,
and ready to perish under a wicked heart, and raging lusts ? or,
have you got a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet
you ? and are you driven to pray that it may be taken from you ?
See here the answer to your prayer. A river of living water
flows from Christ. There is enough here for all your wants.
" My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfect
in weakness." Some of you are afraid of the future ; you fear
some approaching temptation ; you fear some coming contest.
See here the river flows after you ; the Spirit will abide with you

SERMON XXXVIII. 229

for ever. Oh ! what love is here ! Notwithstanding all your sin-
fulness, and weakness, and unbelief, still he abides with you, and
will for e'ver. He is " a well of water springing up into everlas-
ting life." John iv., 14.

Oh ! love the Spirit, then, who so loves you. Grieve net the
Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of
redemption.

St. Peter's, Dec. 16, 1838.

SERMON XXXVIII.

MOSES AND HOBAB.

" And Moses said unto Hobab the Son of Raguel, the Midianite, Moses' father-in-
law, We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it
you : come thou with us, and we will do thee good : for the Lord hath spoken
good concerning Israel." — Numb, x.,29.

THE children of Israel had been nearly a year encamped in the
wilderness that surrounds the rocky peaks of Mount Sinai. But
now the cloud rose from off the tabernacle — the signal that God
wished them to depart — and so Israel prepared for the march in
regular order. Upon a rocky eminence, that overlooked the mar-
shalled thousands of Israel, stood Moses and his brother-in-law,
Hobab. The heart of Moses grew full at the sight, when he
looked upon their banners floating in the wind, when he looked
at the pillar-cloud towering over them like some tall angel beck-
oning them away, when he thought of God's good words concern-
ing Israel, and the good land to which they were hastening. He
felt that his loins were girt with truth, and on his head the helmet
of salvation, and in his hand the sword of the Spirit. He could
not bear that any he loved should leave them now ; and, therefore,
while Hobab stood lingering, uncertain which way to go, Moses
spake thus : " We are journeying toward the place of which the
Lord hath said, I will give it you : come thou with us, and we will
do thee good."

Such are the feelings of God. Whenever a soul is brought to
Jesus Christ, to wash in his blood and to stand in his righteousness,
he is brought to feel two things : first, That now he is journeying
to a good land, his sins are blotted out, the Spirit is within him,
God is his guide, heaven is before him ; second, He wishes all he
loves to come along with him.

Doctrine. — The children of God are on a journey, and \v^h all
they love to come along with them.

I. This world is not the home of a Christian.

230 SERMON XXXVIII.

When Israel was travelling through the wilderness, they did
not count it their home. Sometimes they came to bitter places,
like Marah, where the waters were bitter ; they would' not rest
there. Sometimes they came to sweet, refreshing places, like
Eiim, with its seventy palm trees and twelve wells of water; and
yet they would not sit down and say : " This is my rest." It was
sweet when the manna fell round the camp every morning, ;md
when the water followed them ; yet it was a wilderness, and a
land of drought, and the shadow of death. " We are journeying,"
said Moses. So is this world to a true Christian, it is not a home.
Sometimes he meets with bitter things — disappointments, losses,
bereavements — and he calls the waters Marah ; for they are bit-
ter. Sometimes, too, he comes to refreshing spots, like Elim ;
yet he does not rest in them.

1. There are the sweet joys of home and of kindred, when the
family ring is still unbroken, when not a chair is empty by the
hearth, when not a link is wanting in the chain, when not even a
lamb is carried off from the flock. These are verv pleasant and
lovely to the child of God ; yet he does not. he cannot, rest in
them. He hears a voice saying: "Arise, depart, this is thy rest;
for it is polluted."

2. Christian friends are sweet to the Christian. — Those that
are sharers of our spiritual secrets, those who mingle prayer with
us before the throne, those who never forget us when within the
veil— r-oh, there is something cheering in the very light of their
kindly eye ! It is an intercourse of which the world knows no-
thing. We have them in our heart, inasmuch as they are partak-
ers of one grace, washed in one fountain, filled with the same
Spirit, having one heart, members one of another; yet our rest is
not among these. This is a taste of heaven, but not heaven.
They often disappoint us, go back and become colder, or they are
taken from us before, and leave us to journey on alone. " We
are journeying."

3. Ordinances are sweet to the Christian. — They are the manna
and the waters in the wilderness, the rain that tills the pools in
the Valley of Baca. How sweet is the Sabbath morning ! The
sun shines more brightly than on any other day. How amiable
are thy tabernacles, O Lord ! the singing of psalms, how plea-
sant ! the prayers, how solemn, when we stand within the veil !
the doctrine, how it distils like the dew ! the blessing, how full of
peace ! the sacraments especially, how sweet to the Christian —
wells of salvation, Bethels, trysting-places with Christ ! what
sweet days of pleasure, love, and covenanting with Jesus. Still
not our home, not our rest. (1.) They are defective ; always
son et,.'n ? human about them to mar the sweetest ordinances
There is a bunch of grapes, but oh ! it is not e» ough to satisfy
(2.) Thoy are polluted ; always some fly to • x»il the fragrant

SERMON XXXVIII. 23j

ointment; always so much sin in the minister and in the hearer.
" We are journeying unto the place."

Learn, 1. To look with a traveller's eye upon the world. — When
a traveller is journeying, he sees many fine estates, and beautiful
houses, and lawns and gardens ; but he does not set his heart on
them. He admires, and passes on. So must you do, dear Chris-
tians. Ye are a little flock, travelling through the wilderness.
Twine not your affections round any one thing here. Do not set
your affections on home, or on kindred, or houses, or lands. Be
[ike Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, who lived in tents, declaring
plainly that they sought a better country. " If ye be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sit-
teth." " Set your affections on things above, not on the things ot
the earth."

Learn, 2. Not to mourn over the loss of Christian friends, as
those who have no hope. Some of you have lost little children,
who died in the Lord. Some of you have lost rear friends, who
fell asleep in Jesus. Some of you have lost aged parents, who
have committed their spirit into the hand of Jesus. Now, you
cannot but weep ; and yet, if they were in Christ, you need not.
They have gut to their journey's end, and we are on the way.
A voice seems to rise from their grave, saying : " Weep not for
me, but weep for yourselves and your children." They are at
rest, and " we are journeying."

II. The Christian's home is nearer every step. — When Israel
was travelling the wilderness, they came nearer to the good land
every step they took. They had a long wilderness to pass through,
still every day's journey brought them nearer to the end. So it
is with all that are in Christ Jesus. Every step is bringing them
nearer to heaven. Every day they are coming nearer and nearer
to glory. " Now it is high time to awake out of sleep ; for now
is our salvation nearer than when we believed." " The night is
far spent, the day is at hand." Every sheep that is really found,
and on the shoulder of the shepherd, is coming nearer to the hea-
venly fold every day. Every soul that is carried on the wings ot
the eagle is flying towards the rest that remaineth. The hours
fly fast ; but as fast flies that divine eagle. In running a race,
every step brings you nearer to the end of it, nearer to the prize
and the crown.

Question. — Are you fitter for heaven every day ? Ah ! my
dear Christians, I tremble for some of you who are on your way
to gl<»ry, and yet are not turning fitter for glory. Oh! that you
would forget the things that are behind, and reaching forth to those
that are before, press towards the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. Some of you are just beginning
the journey to heaven. Dear little children, wax stronger and
stronger ; pray more, read more, hear more, love more, do more

232 SERMON XXXVIII.

every day. Let your sense of sin grow, like the loots of trees,
downwards, deeper and deeper. Let your faith grow, like the
branch of the vine, stronger and stronger every year. Let your
peace grow, like a river, broader and broader. " We are jour-
neying."

1. Some are wellnigh through the wilderness. — Some of you aro
on the top of Pisgah. The time draws nigh when you must die.
Dear aged Christians, how soon your eyes will see Him whom,
having not seen, you love ! How soon your heart will love Him
as you wish to do ! . How soon you will grieve him no more for
ever ! Do not be afraid, but meekly rejoice. Live more above
the world ; care less for its pleasures. Speak plainer to your
friends, saying, " Come ye with us." Be oftener within the veil.
Soon you shall be a pillar, and go no more out.

2. Unconverted. — You are nearer hell every day. You, too,
are journeying to the place of which God hath said : " I will give
it you." " For the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable,
and murderers, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Oh ! stop, poor sinner, stop and think. Wherever you are, and
whatever you are engaged in, you are travelling thither. The
most go in at the wide gate. When you are sleeping, you are
posting thither. When you take a journey of pleasure, you are
still advancing on that other journey. When you are laughing
and talking, or in the full enjoyment of your sin, you are still hur-
rying on. You have never stopped since you began to live. You
never stand a moment to take breath. You are nearer hell this
afternoon than in the forenoon. O stop and think ! " Come thou
with us, and we will do thee good."

III. This journey is the great concern of a Christian. — Their
journey was the great concern of Israel. They did not care
much for doing anything else. They did not take to another oc-
cupation. When they came to a green spot, they did not take to
the plough, to try and cultivate it. Their journey was their
great concern. So it should be with those of you who are children
of God. Your journey to heaven should be your great concern.
Dear friends, judge of everything in this way, whether it will
help you on your journey or no. In choosing a profession, or
trade, choose it with regard to this. Will it advance or hinder
your heavenward journey? Will it lead you into sore tempta-
tions, or into wicked company ? Oh ! take heed. What is the
use of living, but only to get on in our journey to heaven ?
Choose your abode with regard to this. Christian servants,
choose your place with regard to this. Remember Lot. He
chose the plain of Jordan, because it was well watered ; but
his soul was all but withered there. In choosing connexions or

SERMON XXXVIII. 233

friends, O choose with regard to this — will they help or hinder
your prayers ? will they go with you, and help you on your
journey ? or will they be a drag upon your wheels ? In going
into companies, in reading books, choose with regard to this—
Will they fill your sails lor heaven ? If not, go not near them.
In yielding to your affections, especially if you find them hin-
dering your journey, drop them instantly. Never mind the con-
sequences. " If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast
it from thee. It is better to enter into life maimed, than having
two hands to be cast into hell fire." " Wherefore, let us lay
aside eve«-y weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus."

IV. All true Christians wish others to journey along with them :
" Come thou with us, and we will do thee good." So it was with
Moses. Hobab had been his friend for forty years, in the land of
Midian, where Moses married his sister, and lived in his father
RaguePs house. In that time, I doubt not, Moses had told him
much of Israel's God and Israel's coming glory. Many a time,
while they fed their flocks in this very wilderness, Moses had
reasoned with him of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to
come, till Hobab trembled. Still it would seem Hobab was not
quite convinced. He doubted — he lingered, He had been awed
by the terrors of Sinai, but not won by the love of Calvary. He
did not know whether to go or stay. But the hour of decision
came. He must decide now. Now was the heart of Moses
stirred in him : " Come thou with us. and we will do thee good ;
for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel." So it was with
Paul, when he himself had tasted the joy and peace of believing;
then says he: " My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is,
that they might be saved." So it was with Andrew: " Andrew
first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have
found the Christ." So it was with the poor maniac whom Jesus
healed : " Go h )me, tell thy friends how great things the Lord
hath done for thee, and how he hath had compassion on thee."
So it was with the poor slave in Antigua, who used to pray that
there might be a full heaven and an empty hell.

Question. — Is it so with you ? Have you asked your friends to
come with you ? Have you a father whom you love — a mother
that carried you at her breast? Have you a brother or a sister ?
Are they lingering like Hobab ? Oh ! will you not put in a word
for Christ, and say : " Come thou with us, and we will do thee
good." Have you a friend whom you love much — who knows
nothing of Christ and of God — who is willing to die in the wilder-
ness ? Oh ! will you not win him to go with you to Israel's God
and Israel's glory ?

Word to lingering souls. — Some of you, like Hobab, are haK

234 SERMON XXXIX

persuaded to go with Israel. " Almost thou persuadest me to be
a Christian." Some of you see your children converted, and you
not ; and yet you are not determined to go with them. Oh ! why
halt ye between two opinions? Go with them now.

Observe, 1. This may be the deciding day. — It was so with
Hobab. God is pleading hard with you to-day. He has spoken
to you by most solemn providences — by the Bible, by his minis-
ters, and by the tender persuading voice of those you love.
*' Come thou with us." " Choose you this day, then, whom you
will serve." Remember this may be the deciding day : to-morrow
it may be too late.

2. You will share in their joys : — " We will do thee good."
What makes them so anxious for you to go with them, if rt be not
for your good ? You know they love you tenderly ; they would
not have a hair of your head hurt. You will taste their forgive-
ness— their peace with God — their joy in the Word and prayer ;
you will know their God ; you will know their heaven. Oh ! that
God would put it into your heart to cleave to them like Ruth to
Naomi, saying : " Whither thou goest I will go ; and where thou
lodgest I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God
my God."

St. Peter's, July 22, 1838.

SERMON XXXIX.

COMFORT YE.

Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to
• Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned : for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."—
Isa. xl., 1, 2.

THESE words are a blast of the silver trumpet of the Gospel.
Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound. They are like
the words of the angel at Bethlehem ; " I bring you good tidings
of great joy, which shall be to all people." This is the voice of
the shepherd, which all his flock know and love.

I Believers have received double punishment for all their sins :
"She hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." —
Vt rse 2. There are two ways in which sinners may bear the
punishment of their sins.

1. In themselves — On their own body and soul for ever. This
is the way in which nil unconverted men. who finally perish, will
bear their sins. " These shall go away into everlasting punish-
ment." " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." Not

SERMON XXXIX. 235

that they will be able to bear their punishment : " My punish-
ment is greater than I can bear." " The great day of his wrath
is come, and who shall be able to stand T' They shall say tc
one another, " Who among us can dwell with the devouring
flame ? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings ?"
And God will say : " Can thine heart endure, or thine hands be
strong, in the day that I shall deal with thee?" This is not
the way spoken of in the text ; for, (1.) It would be a message
of woe, and not of comfort — Woe, woe, woe, and not Comfort
ye, comfort ye. When God really takes in hand to punish sin-
ners, there will be no comfort in that day. The heart of sinners
will sink under insupportable gloom. (2.) Sinners never can bear
double in themselves. When a poor sinner dies Christless and
goes to bear the punishment of his sins, he never can bear
enough. He has sinned against an infinite God ; and his punish-
ment, if it be just, must be infinite — his stripes must be eternal —
the gnawing worm must never die — the burning flame must
never be quenched. In this way, poor Christless souls can never
satisfy the justice of God. God will never say it is enough. He
Will never pour water on the flames of hell, nor send a drop'
to the parched tongues that are tormented there. Instead of
suffering double, they will never receive enough at the Lord's
hand lor all their sins. Oh ! dear friends, it is easy talking of this
now ; but many of you will probably feel it soon.

"2. In Christ the surety. — It is according to justice, that sinners
may bear their sins in Christ the Surety. (1.) This was the very
errand that Christ came upon. He thought upon this from all
eternity. For this end he came into the world — for this end he
became man. " He himself bare our sins in his own body on the
tree." If it were not a just and righteous thing, that sinners
should bear their sins in another, and not in themselves, Christ
never would have undertaken it. This is the very way here
spoken of. (2.) All the sufferings of Christ were at the hand of
his Father : " It pleased the Lord to bruise him : he hath put him
to grief. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all."
We generally look at the wicked hands that crucified and slew
Christ ; but we must not forget that it was by the determinate
counsel arid foreknowledge of God, and that they would have had
n<> )>owcr at all against him, except it had been given them from
above. Through all the crowd of scoffing priests and bloody
•oldiers, you must see the Lord's hand making his soul an offering
for sin. This shows that Christ is a Saviour appointed of the
Father. Awakened souls are afraid of the avenging hand of God ;
but in Christ there is a refuge. And you need not fear but Christ
will shelter you ; lor there was an agreement between them, that
Christ should suffer these things for sinners, and enter into his
glory. Christ finished the work which the Father gave him to do.
(3.) When sinners take refuge in Christ, the law takes its course

236 SERMON XXXIX.

against their sins — not upon their soul, but upon Christ. All their
sins, whether they be many or few, are reckoned his, and he is
made answerable ; and he has already borne double for them all
How was it just that Christ should bear double? Ans. He could
not suffer at all, without bearing double for all our sins, by reason
of his excellency and glory. The sufferings of Christ for a time,
were, in God's eye, double the eternal sufferings of sinners, by
reason of the infinite dignity of his person. God is well pleased
for his righteousness' sake ; for he magnified the law, and made
it honorable. In the death of Christ, the angels saw God to be
holy, infinitely better than if all mankind had perished for ever.

Come freely, then, to Jesus Christ, O awakened sinner. There
you will find a shelter from the wrath due to your sins. Your
sins are, indeed, infinite, and the wrath of God intolerable ; but in
Jesus you may find safety. He came upon this very errand.
You need not fear but he will receive you ; his heart and his arms
are open for you. His Father is willing you should come. Be
your sins many or few, it is all one ; in Christ you will find thai
they are all borne, suffered for, in a way glorifying to God and
safe to you.

II. All believers are therefore in a truly blessed condition.

1. Their iniquity is pardoned.— <- A soul in Christ is a pardoned
soul. It matters not how many his sins have been. The iniquity
of Jerusalem was very great. The people of Jerusalem had sin-
ned against light and against love. All the prophets had beer,
sent them ; yet they were stoned or killed. The Son of God
came there ; they cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
Their sins had grown up to heaven ; yet, no sooner do they be-
take themselves to Christ than God says : " Her iniquity is par-
doned." And, observe, 1st, It is a present pardon. He does not
say, Her iniquity shall be pardoned, but, " Her iniquity is pardon-
ed." No sooner does a guilty, heavy laden soul betake himself to
Christ, than this sweet word is heard in heaven : " His iniquity is
pardoned." " There is now no condemnation to them that are in
Christ Jesus." Oh ! it is no future or uncertain pardon that is
offered in the gospel ; but a sure and present pardon ; pardon now,
this instant, to all who believe in Jesus. You are as completely
pardoned in the moment of believing as ever you will be. Oh !
haste ye, and receive pardon from Christ. Oh ! that ye knew the
day of your visitation. Observe, 2d, It is a holy pardon. Your
iniquity is pardoned ; for another has died for your sins. Oh ! it
is an awful way of pardon. " There is forgiveness with God, that
he may be feared." It is a pardon to make you tremble, and hate
gin with a perfect hatred. Oh ! can you ever love that which
nailed him to the tree, which bowed down his blessed head ? Will
you take up sin again, and thus put the spear afresh into the side
of Jesus ? Some say : I am too vile. Ah ! are you viler than

SERMON XXXIX. 237

Jerusalem ? When you take a pebble, and cast it into the deep
sea, it sinks, and is entirely covered ; so are the sins of those who
take refuge in Christ : " Thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths
of the sea."

2. Their warfare is accomplished. — (1.) With the law. An
awakened soul has a dreadful warfare with the law of God. Tho
law of God is revealed to his conscience, armed with a flaming,
glittering sword. It demands the obedience of his heart and life.
The sinner tries to obey it, he tries to bring his life up to its re-
quirements ; but in vain. The law lifts up its sword to slay him ;
it hurls its curses at him. This is a dreadful warfare in every
awakened conscience ; but when the sinner runs into Jesus Christ,
his warfare is accomplished. " The name of the Lord is a strong
tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." In Christ Jesus,
the demands of the law are satisfied ; for he was made under the
law. Its curses are borne ; for he was made a curse for us. The
glittering sword pierced the side of Jesus. Oh ! do you know
what it is to have this warfare accomplished ? (2.) With the
devil. We wrestle not with flesh and blood. An awakened soul
has often an awful warfare with Satan. Satan fights against him
in two ways : 1st. By stirring up his corruptions, and making his
lusts to flame and burn within him in a fearful manner. 2d, By
accusing him. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He accuses
him in his conscience, in order to drive him away from Christ, to
drive him to despair, and to give up all hope of salvation. He
says to him : " Thou art. a vile wretch, not fit for a holy Saviour :
see what raging lusts are in thy heart, thou wilt never be saved."
Ah ! when the poor sinner runs into Christ, he finds rest there ; his
warfare is then accomplished. He sees all the accusations of Satan
answered in the blood of the Lamb. (3.) With sin. The
awakened soul has a dreadful warfare with his corruptions. His
heart appears just full of raging lusts, all tearing him to pieces.
He is driven hither and thither; but when he comes to Christ this
warfare is accomplished. Indeed, in one sense the battle is not over,
but just begun ; but now victory is sure. God is now for him.
Greater is He that is for him than all that can be against him. "If
God be for us, who can be against us ?" The Spirit of God is
now within him ; he will abide with him for ever. The Spirit
now reigns in him. Christ now fights for him, covers his head
in the day of battle, carries him on his shoulder. He is as sure
to overcome as if he were already in glory. He says to him:
' Fear not, thou worm Jacob : fear not, for I have redeemed
thee ; I have called thee by thy name ; thou art mine. I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee." That word, never leave thee.
reaches through the darkest hours of temptation, the deepest waters
of affliction, the hottest fires of persecution ; it reaches unto death,
through death and the grave, into eternity.

£38 SERMON XXXIX.

III. Believers should take the comfort of their condition.

1. God commands it. — Some say, It is a dangerous thing to be
happy. They are afraid of too much joy. They say, It is betler
to be in deep exercises, better to have deep wadings ; it is not
good to be of too joyful a spirit. What says the Word of God ?
" Comfort ye, comfort ye." If your joy flow from the cross of
Christ, you cannot have too much joy. " Rejoice in the Lord
alway; and again I say, Rejoice." When Christ truly rises on
the soul, he should be like a morning without clouds. If it be true
that Christ came into the world to seek and save that which was
lost ; if you see his freeness and preciousness, I ask, how can you
do otherwise than rejoice and be comforted ? " Whom, having
not seen, we love ; in whom, though now we see him not, yet be-
lieving, we rejoice writh joy unspeakable and full of glory." May
the God of Hope fill you brimfull with joy and peace in believing !

2. Examine from whence your comfort flows. — All true Gospel
comfort flows from the cross of Christ, from the Man of Sorrows.
The comfort of hypocrites flows from themselves. They look to
themselves for comfort ; they look to the change on their life, they
see some improvements there, and take rest from that; or, they
look deeper to their concern, their mourning over sin, their con-
victions, their endeavors after Christ ; or, they look to their de-
votions, their delight in prayer, their flowing of affection ami
words ; or to texts of the Bible coming into their minds ; or, they
look to what their friends or ministers think of them, and they take
comfort from these. All these are refuges of lies, false Christs,
that must be cast away, or they will ruin your soul. Christ's blood
and righteousness, and not any work in your own heart, must be
your justification before a holy God. True Gospel comfort comes
from a sight of Christ's bearing double for all our sins. " Behold
the Lamb of God !" Gospel comfort is a stream that flows direct
from Calvary.

3. See how false the comfort of Christ-neglecting souls. — This
sweet word of comfort is only to those who are under the wings
of Christ. That little flock alone have got rest for their souls.
But most neglect this great salvation. You do not feel your need
of an atoning Saviour, you think you can justify yourself before
God ; you do not feel your need of an almighty Sanctifier. Christ
is a tender plant in your eyes, you have not betaken yourself to
Christ. Ah ! my friend, woe to you. Your warfare is not ac-
complished. The law, with its curses and its flaming sword,
stands in your way. Satan also accuses you, and you have
nothing to answer him. Sin rages in you, and you have no power
against it. vYour iniquity is not pardoned, not one sin is blotted
out. All is naked and laid open to the eyes of Him with whom
you have to do. Your comfort is all a lie, your peace is Satan's
peace, it is the slumber that ends in perdition. You will yet bear
Vour own sins. When the great day of his wrath is come, you

SERMON XL. 241

sometimes feel that he fulfils that word ; " I will not leave you
orphans ; I will come to you." The Father is the refuge of his
own. They feel his everlasting arms underneath them, they feel
his eye watching over them, they feel his love pouring down upon
(hem like a stream of light from heaven. The Holy Spirit is
within them. They sometimes feel his breathing, they sometimes
feel that they have the Spirit within them, crying, " Abba,
Father." Oh ! this heaven upon earth, full, satisfying joy. Some-
times it pleases God to withdraw from the soul, chiefly, I believe,
1st, To humble us in the dust ; 2d, To discover some corruption
anmortified ; 3d, To lead us to hunger more after him. Such was
/he state of David when he wrote the 42d psalm : "I will say
dnto God, my Rock, Why hast thou forgotten me ? As with a
word L"1 my bones, mine enemies reproach me, while they say
laily unto me, Where is thy God ?" " As the hart panteth after
the water- brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Ah1
far more than the natural thirst of the wounded deer for the
clear-flowing brook, is the spiritual thirst of the deserted soul
after God. Such was the feeling of Job when he cried ; " The
arrows of the Almighty are within me ;" and again : "O that 1
knew where I might find him ; O that it were with me as in
months past !" He has a bitter remembrance of his past enjoy-
ment, a bitter sense that means cannot bring his soul back again
to rest. Such was the feeling of the bride : " By night on my bed
I sought him whom my soul loveth : I sought him, bvjt I found
him not.'' — Song i»., 1. Ah ! brethren, if ever you have known
anything of this you will know the wretched feeling of distance
from God, of having mountains between the soul and him, implied
in these words : " The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath
forgotten me."

II. God cannot forget a soul in Cf>* ' "Can a woman for-
get her sucking child, that she shouK v^e compassion on the
son of her womb ? yea, they may -et will I not forget
thee."

1. It is like a mother's love. — ^'s world like

a mother's love. It is a free, i However

much pain she has suffere'' ^ver

many troubles she has to ' V4t

hangs upon her brea.c
is a something in he1
even to her idiot b<~
than this love,
a fafcher pitk
him." '

242 SERMON XL.

not account for it. You cannot change it. You must break to
pieces the mothers heart before you can change her love to her
child. And yet there are some poor souls so disfigured by Satan,
their hearts *so brutalized, that they c.an forget their children.
The Indian mother can dance over her infant's grave, and the
murderess can lift her hand against the life of her little one :
"They may forget; yet will 1 not forget thee."

The love of God to a soul in Christ is a natural love. It is a
love engrained in his nature. The Father loveth the Son ; and it
is the same love with which he loves the soul that is in Christ.
He cannot forget him. He loves him because he is altogether
lovely, he loves him because he is worthy to be loved, he loves
him because he laid down his life for the sheep. All that is in
God binds him to love his Son, his holiness, his justice, his truth ;
and so all that is in God binds him to love the soul that is in
Christ.

Be not cast down, brethren, in affliction. Deserted souls, God's
love cannot change unless his nature change. Not till God cease
to be holy, just and true, will he cease to love the soul that hides
under the wings of Jesus.

2. The Father's love is full love. — A mother's love is the fullest
love which we have on earth. She loves with all her heart. But
there is no love full but that of God toward his Son ; God loves
Jesus fully ; the whole heart of the Father is, as it were, conti-
nually poured down in love upon the Lord Jesus. There is
nothing in Christ except what draws the infinite love of God. In
him God sees his own image perfect, his own law acted out, his
own will done. The Father loves the Son fully ; but when a soul
comes into Christ, the same love rests on that soul : " That the
love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them." John xvii.,
26. True, a creature cannot receive the love of, God as Jesus
can; but it is the sai ^^e that shines on us and him ; full, sa-
tisfying, unbounded i TVhen the sun pours down its beams
on the wide ocean av *le flower at the same time, it is the
same sunshine tl :nto both, though the ocean has
vastly large'* its glorious beams ; so, when the
Son of ^ his Father, and a poor guilty
worr love that comes both on the
£• " •• able to contain more.

s? If God fully loves

forget thee. A crea-

",lay vessel, a breath

1 again. But the

bject infinitely

SERMON XL. 243

Back, he finds his aged mother changed, her head is grey, her
venerable brow is furrowed with age ; still he feels, while she
clasps him to her bosom, that her heart is the same. But, ah ! far
more unchanging is the love of God to Christ, and to a soul in
Christ : " I am the Lord ; I change not." The Father that loves
has no variableness. Jesus, who is loved, is the same, yesterday,
to-day, and for ever. How can that love change ? It flowed
before the world was ; it will flow when the world has passed
away.

If you are in Christ, that love shines on you : " I have loved thee
with an everlasting love." " I am persuaded that neither deatfi,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre-
sent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(1.) Comfort downcast believers. Many of you may be cast
down, and your souls disquieted. You think God has dealt
bitterly with you; he has written you childless ; he has met you
as a lion and as a bear bereaved of her whelps ; or he has blasted
your gourd ; or he has deserted you, so that- you seek him, and
find him not. Look'still to Jesus ; the love of God shines on him ;
nothing can separate Jesus from that love ; nothing can separate
you. At the very time when Zion was saying," "My God hath
forgotten me ;" at that moment God was saying: " I will not forget
thee."

Your afflictions and desertions only prove that you are under
the Father's hand. There is no time when the patient is an object
of such tender interest to the surgeon, as when he is under his
knife ; so, you may be sure, if you are suffering from the hand of
God, his eye is all the more bent on you. " The eternal God is
thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.''

(2.) Invite poor sinners to come and taste of this love. It is a
sweet thing to be loved. I suppose the most of you have tasted
a mother's love. You know what it is to be rocked in her arms,
to be watched by her gentle eye, to be cheered by her smile ; but,
oh ! brethren, this is nothing to the love of your God. That dear
mother's eye will «lose in death ; that cjear mother's arm will
moulder in the dust. Oh ! come and share the love of Him who
cannot die. There is one spot alone on -tfhich the love of God
continually falls unclouded ; it is the head #f Je«ns : « The Father
loveth the Son." He loves him from his t ery nature ; so that the
perfections of God must change before thj» love can change. He
loves him fully. The whole treasures of love that are in the
infinite bosom of Jehovah are pouring (VHitinually into the bosom
of the Son He loves unchangingly J/io cloud can ever come
between; no veil, no distance. But v^it is this to me? Every-
thing to you, sinner. Jesus stands 'o lefuge for sinners, ready to
receive even thee. Flee into him,"iinner; abide in him, and that

244 SERMON XLI

love shall abide on you. You are a worm ; but you may cntei
into the joy of your Lord. You may share the love of God with
Jesus in a way that holy angels cannot do. Oh ! sinner, had you
rather remain under the wrath of God ? "He that believeth not
the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
" God is angry with the wicked every day ;" but, ah ! " This is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into 'the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

Oh ! it is sweet to pass from wrath to love, from death to life.
That poor murderess would leap in her cell, when the news came
that she was not to die the murderer's death ;* but, ah ! ten thou-
sand times sweeter would it be to you, if God were, this day, to
nersuade you to embrace Christ freely offered in the Gospel.

SERMON XLI.

THANKSGIVING OBTAINS THE SPIRIT.

•' It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one
sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord ; and when they lifted up
their voice with the trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments of music, and
praised the Lord, saying, For he is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever : that
then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord ; so that the
priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud : for the glory of the
Lord had filled the house of God." — 2 Chron. v., 13, 14.

THE day here spoken of appears to have been a day of days. It
seems to have been the day of Pentecost in Old Testament
times, a type of all the glorious days of an outpoured Spirit that
ever have been in the world, a foretaste of that glorious day when
God will fulfil that amazing, soul-satisfying promise, " I will pour
out my Spirit upon all flesh."

My dearly beloved flock, it is my heart's desire and prayer that
this very day might be such a day among us, that God would
indeed open the windows of heaven, as he has done in times past,
and pour down a blessing, till there be no room to receive it.

Let us observe, then, how thanksgiving brings down the Spirit
of God.

I. How the people, were engaged: " In praising and thanking
the Lord." Yea, you have their very words: " For he is good ;
for his mercy endureth frr ever." It was thus the people were
engaged when the cloud \me down and filled the house. They
had been engaged in m_.jy other most affecting duties. The

* Alluding to a recent occurrence.

SERMON XLI. 245

Levites had been carrying the ark from Mount Zion and placing
it under the wings of the cherubim ; Solomon and all his people
had been offering sacrifices, sheep and oxen, which could not be
told for multitude, still no answer came from heaven. But when
the trumpeters and singers were as one in praising and thanking
the Lord, when they lifted up their voices, saying, " For he is
good ; for his mercy endureth for ever ;" then the windows of
heaven were opened, then the cloud came down and filled the
whole temple.

My dear flock, I am deeply persuaded that there will be no full,
soul-filling, heart-ravishing, heart-satisfying, out-pouring of the
Spirit of God, till there be more praise and thanking the Lord. Let
me stir up your hearts to praise.

1. He is good. Believers should praise God for what he is in
himself. Those that have never seen the Lord cannot praise him.
Those that have not come to Christ, have never seen the King in
his beauty. An unconverted man sees no loveliness in God. He
sees a beauty in the blue sky, in the glorious sun, in the green
earth, in the spangling stars, in the lily of the field ; but he sees
no beauty in God. He hath not seen him, neither known him ;
therefore there is no melody of praise in that heart. When a
sinner is brought to Christ, he is brought to the Father. Jesus
gave himself for us, " that he might bring us to God." Oh ! what
a sight breaks in upon the soul, the infinite, eternal, unchangeable
God ! I know that some of you have been brought to see this
sight. Oh ! praise him, then, for what he is. Praise him for his
pure, lovely holiness, that cannot bear any sin in his sight. Cry,
like the angels, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." Praise
him for his infinite wisdom, that he knows the end from the begin-
ning. In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Praise him for his power, that all matter, all mind, is in his hand.
The heart of the king, the heart of saint and sinner, are all in
his hand. Hallelujah ! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
Praise him for his love ; for God is love. Some of you have been
at sea. When far out of sight of land, you have stood high on
the vessel's prow, and looked round and round, one vast circle of
ocean without any bound. Oh ! so it is to stand in Christ justified,
and to behold the love of God, a vast ocean all around you, with-
out a bottom and without a shore. Oh ! praise him for what he
is. Heaven will be all praise. Jf you cannot praise God, you
never will be there.

2. For his mercy, for what he has done for us. The Lord has
done much for me since we parted. We were once in perils of
water ; but the Lord saved the ship. Again and again we were
in danger of plague; we nightly heard the cry of the mourner;
yet no plague came near our dwelling. Again and again we were
in pr-rils of robbers ; the gun of the murderous Arab has been
levelled at us ; but the Lord stayed his hand. I have been at the
gates of death since we parted. No man that saw me would

216 SERMON XLI.

have believed that I could be here this day ; yet he nath healed oui
diseases, and brought me back to open once more to you the un-
searchable riches of Christ. I, then, have reason to praise him ;
for his mercy endureth for ever. The Lord has done much tor
you since we parted. My eyes filled with tears when I left you ;
for I thought he had done it in anger. I thought it was anger to
me, and I thought it was anger to you ; but now I see it was all
love — it was all mercy to unworthy you and to unworthy me.
The Lord gave you my dear brother to care for your souls ; and
far better than that, for to give you a man only would have been
a poor gilt, but he has given you his Holy Spirit. " Bless the
Lord, O my soul !" Praise him, O my people ! for he is good ;
for his mercy endureth for ever. Are there not some of you brands
plucked out of the burning ? You were in the burning ; the pains
of hell were actually getting hold on you. You had a hell in your
own hearts ; you had a hell yawning to receive you ; but the Lord
snatched you from the burning. Will you not praise him? Are
there not some of you whom I left blind, and deaf, and dumb, and
dead ? You saw no beauty in Him who is fairer than the children
of men; you saw no glory in Immanuel — God manifest in the
flesh. But the Lord has said : " Go, wash in the pool of Siloam ;"
and whereas you were blind, now you see. Oh ! praise him that
hath done it. In heaven, they praise God must of all for this :
" Worthy is tha Lamb that was slain." Oh! have you no praise
for Jesus for all his love — for the Father — for the Spirit? Some
of you cannot sing ; " No man could learn that song but those that
were redeemed from the earth." Some of you are worse than
when I left you. You have resisted me ; you have resisted my
brother ; and, oh ! worse than all, you have resisted the Holy
Ghost. You are prayerless yet, Christless yet. Ah ! unhappy
souls, unredeemed, unrenewed, remember it will be too late to learn
to praise when you die. You must begin now. I will tell you
what a dear friend of my own once said before dying. She de-
sired all the servants to be brought in, and she said very solemnly :
"There's nothing but Christ between me and weeping, and wail-
ing, and gnashing of teeth. Oh ! Forrest, if you have not Christ,
then there is nothing between you and weeping, and wailing, and
gnashing of teeth." You that will not praise Christ now, shall
wail because of him soon.

II. The manner of their praise.

As one. Their hearts were all as one heart in this exercise.
There were a thousand tongues, but only one heart. Not only
were their harps, and cymbals, and dulcimers, all in tune, giving
out a harmonious melody, but their hearts were all in tune. God
had given them one heart, and then the blessing came down. The
same was the case on the day of Pentecost; they were all with
one accord in one place ; they were looking to the same Lamb of
God The same thing will be the case in that day prophesied of

SERMON XLI. 2-47

in the 133d psalm : "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in unity !" " There God commands the
blessing, even life for evermore." This is the very thing which
Jesus prayed for in that prayer which none but. God could have
asked, and none but God could answer: "Neither pray I for these
alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their
word ; that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may
believe that thou hast sent me;" and then follows the blessing:
** And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them ; that
they may be one, even as we are one : I in them, arid thou in me,
that they may be made perfect in one ; .and that the world may
know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast
loved me."

Dear children c«f God, unite your praises. Let your hearts no
more be divided. You are divided from the world by a great
gulf. Soon it will be an infinite gulf; but you are united to one
another by the same spirit ; you have been chosen by the same
free, sovereign love ; you have been washed in the same precious
blood ; you have been filled by the same blessed Spirit. Little
children, love one another. He that loveth is born of God. Be
one in your praises. Join in one cry : " Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain ; thou art worthy to open the book ; thou art worthy to
reign in our hearts." And, oh ! be fervent in praise. Lift up
youi voices in it ; lift up your hearts in it. In heaven they wax
louder and louder. John heard the sound of a great multitude ;
and then it was like many waters, and then it was like mighty
thunderings, crying : " Hallelujah ! hallelujah !" 1 remember
Edvvards's remark, that it was in the singing of praises that his
people felt themselves most enlarged, and then that God was wor-
shipped somewhat in the beauty of holiness. Let it be so among
yourselves. Learn, dearly beloved, to praise God heartily ; to
sing with all your heart and soul in the family, and in the congre-
gation. But, oh ! remember that even your praises must be
sprinkled with blood, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

III. Effects.

1. The cloud filled the house. This cloud is the very same which
led them through the Red Sea, and went before them forty years
in the wilderness. It was a pillar of cloud by day, to shade them
from the heat ; it was a pillar of fire by night, to guide Israel on
their way to the promised rest; and now it came and filled the
holiest of all and the holy place. Such was the wonderful effect
which followed their united fervent praises. God himself came
down, and filled every chamber of the house with his presence.
" This is my rest for ever ; here will I dwell ; for I have desired
it." Now, my dear friends, we are not now to expect that God
will answer our pi ayers, or follow our praises with a pillar of

248 SERMON XL1.

cloud or a pillar of fire. These were but the shadows ; now we
receive the realitv, the substance. If ye will but unite in unani-
mous and heartfelt praises, then am I persuaded that God will give
his Holy Spirit to fill thjs House, to fill every heart in the spiritual
temple. How glorious this will be !

(1.) For the children of God. Are there not some of you who
have come to Christ, and nothing more ? Guilty, weary, heavy
laden, you have found rest ; redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins. Oh! do not stop there. Do not rest in
mere forgiveness ; cry for the indwellings of the Holy Ghost, the
Comforter. Forgiveness is but a means to an end. You are justi-
fied in order that you may be sanctified. Remember, without
holiness, you will never see the Lord ; and without this indwelling
Spirit, you never will be holy.

Are there not some of you groaning under a body of sin and
death, and crying, with the apostle : " Oh ! wretched man, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Do you not feel
the plague of your own heart ? Do you not feel the power of your
old nature ? How many in this state lean upon themselves, trust
in their resolutions, attempt, as it were, by force, to put down their
sins : but here is the remedy. Oh ! cry for the flood-tide of God's
Spirit, that he may fill every chamber of your heart ; that he may
renew you in the spirit of your mind.

Are there not many who are cold, worldly Christians, those who
were long ago converted, but have fallen sadly back, under the
power of the world, either its gaiety or its business, its mirth or its
money, and they have got into worldly habits, deep ruts of sin ?
Ah ! see what you need. He that created man in his own image
at first, must create you over again. You need an almighty in-
dwelling Comforter. Oh ! it is he only who can melt your icy
heart, and make it flow out in love to God, who can fill you with
all t'he fulness of God.

Are there not some who read the Bible, but get little from it?
You feel that it does not sink into your heart, it does not remain
with you through the week. It is like the seed cast in the way-
side, easily plucked away. Oh ! it is just such an outpoured Spirit
you require to hide the Word in your heart. When you write
with a dry pen, without any ink in it, no impression is made upon
the paper. Now, ministers are the pens, and the Spirit of God is
the ink. Pray that the pen may be filled with that living ink, that
the Word may remain in your hearts, known and read of all men
— that you may be sanctified through the truth.

(2.) For the unconverted. — So it was in the day of Pentecost- —
the Spirit came first on the small company of disciples, and then
on the ihree thousand. You have seen the hills attracting the
cjouds, and so drawing down the shower into the valleys ; so do
God's children, having their heads within the veil, obtain the Spirit
of God in fulness, and dispense it to all around. You have seen

SERMON XLII. 249

some tall tree or spire catching the lightning, and conveying it
down into the ground, so does the fire of God's Spirit come first
upon the trees of righteousness, and from them descends to the
dead souls around them.

A word to dead souls. — Keep near to God's children at such a
time as this. Do not separate from them — do not mock at them ;
you may yet receive the grace of God through them. Dear be-
lievers, for the sake of the dead souls around you, for the sake of
this great town, full of wickedness, for the sake of our land, filled
with formality and hypocrisy, oh ! unite in prayer, and unite in
praise, and prove the Lord, if he will not pour out a blessing. Not
for your own sakes only, but for the sake of those perishing around
you, let us wrestle and pray for a fuller time of the Spirit's work-
ing than has ever been seen in Scotland yet.

2. The priests could not stand to minister. — Before the cloud
came down, no doubt the priests were all busily engaged burning
incense, and offering sacrifices ; but when the cloud came down,
they could only wonder and adore. So it ever will be when the
Lord gives much of his Spirit; he will make it evident that it is
not the work of man. If he were to give only a little, then mi-
nisters would begin to think they had some hand in it ; but when
he fills the house, then he makes it plain that man has nothing to
do with it. David Brainard said, that when God awakened his
whole congregation of Indians, he stood by amazed, and felt that
he was as nothing — that God alone was working. Oh ! it is this,
dear friends, that we desire and pray for, that the Lord, the Spirit,
would himself descend, and with his almighty power tear away
the veil from your hearts, convince you of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment, that Jesus himself would take his sceptre, and
break your hard hearts, and take all the glory — that we mav cry
out : " i\ot unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name gtve
glory."

St. Peter's, JVov. 24, 1339 (after returning from Palestine).

SERMON XLII.

AN EXCEEDING GOOD LAND.

M And they spake rnto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The lanf1
which we passed through to search it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord
delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land that
floweth with milk and honey." — Numb, xiv., 7, 8.

WHEN the children of Israel arrived at the border of the promised
land, Moses, at the command of God, sent twelve men to spy out
the good land. They searched it for forty days from the one end

250 - SERMON XLII.

to the other, and then returned, bringing a bunch of grapes, borna
between two, on a staff, from the fruitful Valley of Eschol. But
ten of the spies brought an evil report of the land. The land,
they said, was good ; but the inhabitants were giants, and the
cities walled up to heaven ; and the conclusion they came to was:
" We are not able to go up against the people, for they are strongei
than we." — Verse 31.

Joshua and Caleb alone tried to still the people. They did not
deny that the men were tall, and that the cities were walled ; but
they pointed to the pillar-cloud to answer all objections : " The
Lord is with us," and we shall subdue the people as easily as we
eat bread. " The land which we passed through to search it is an
exceeding good land."

Doctrine. — If God delight in a soul, he will bring it into the
good land.

I. Show who they are that God delights in.

1. God has no delight in a natural soul. — " If thou shouldest
mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand ?" " Thou art not a God
that delighteth in wickedness ; neither shall evil dwell with thee.'
" Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look
on iniquity." " Surely thou wilt slay the wicked. O God." Eli's
sons hearkened not unto the voice of their father ; for the Lord
would slay them. It is God's very nature to loathe and turn
away from that which is sinful. A person with a fine ear for
music cannot delight in a jarring discord. It is impossible in his
very nature. So it is impossible in God to delight in a naked sin-
ner. A person covered with sin is quite contrary to God's nature;
and therefore, when naked sinners and God meet in the judgment,
God will have no mercy, neither will his eye spare. He will say :
" Bind them hand and foot, and cast them into outer darkness."

Oh ! you that are covered over with sin, think of this. You
that are uncovered in the sight of God, prepare to meet your God.
How will you come into the presence of one who abhors sin,
when he puts your 'most secret sins in the light of his countenance,
when he brings to light all the hidden works of darkness, when
you shall give account of every idle word ? Ah ! where wUI you
appear ?

2. He delights in one sprinkled with the blood of Christ. — When
a hell-deserving sinner is enlightened in the knowledge of Christ,
wheii he believes the record that God hath given concerning his
Son, and joyfully consents that the Lord Jesus be his surety, then
the blood of Christ is, as it were, sprinkled over that soul. When
Aaron and his sons were set apart for the priesthood, the blood of
the ram was put upon the tip of their right ear. and the thumb of
their right hand, and the great toe of their right foot, to signify
that they were dipped in blood from head to foot ; so when God

ooks upon a soul in Christ, he sees it dipped in the blood of the

SERMON XLII. 251

Saviour. He looks upon that soul as having suffered all that
Christ suffered ; therefore he delights in that soul. His sense of
justice is pleased. God has an infinite sense of justice. His eyes
behold the things that are equal ; now when he sees the blood of
his Son sprinkled upon any soul, he sees that justice has had its
full satisfaction in that soul, that that man's sins have been more
fully punished than if he had borne them himself eternally.

His sense of mercy is pleased. He delighteth in mercy. Even
when justice was crying out, " Thou shall surely slay the wicked,"
his mercy was yearning over sinners, and he provided a ransom.
And now when the sinner has laid hold on the ransom, mercy is
poured down in forgiveness. God delighteth in mercy ; he de-
lights to forgive the soul. It is sweet to notice how Jesus loves to
forgive sins. In the woman that washed his feet, how he seems
to dwell on it ! " Her sins, which are many, are forgiven." And
again he said unto her : " Thy sins are forgiven thee ;" and again,
a third time : " Go in peace." And so God loves to forgive :
" There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth."

Invite trembling sinners to come to Jesus. — Some of you are
trembling under a sense of being exposed to God's wrath. Which
of his commandments have you not broken ? Your case is, in-
deed, a dismal one, your fears are most just and reasonable ; and
if you saw your condition fully, they would be ten thousand times
greater. Yet here is a fountain opened for sin and for unclean-
ness. If only you are willing to come to the Lord Jesus, you do
not need to remain another moment but of God's favor. You see
how completely safe you would be, if you would take this blood.
A just and merciful God would rejoice over you to forgive you.
It is all in vain that you try your own righteousness ; it will never
make God delight in you, for it is filthy rngs in his sight. But
the blood of atonement, the blood of the Lamb, speaketh peace.

3. God delights in the sanctified. — You remember, in the Book
of Revelation, how often Jesus says, "I know thy works." He
says it with delight in the case of Smyrna : " I know thy works,
and tribulation, and poverty ; but thou art rich." When God
brings a soul into Christ, he makes him a new creature ; then God
loves the new creature. Just as when God made the world, he
saw all that he had made, and smiled, for all was very good : so,
when God makes a new creation in the heart, God delights in it.
He says it is all very good.

()!>j. iVIy graces are all imperfect. They do not please rue,
how c;m they please God ? 1 cannot do the things that I would.

Ans. All true ; yet God loves his own workmanship in the soul.
His Sp.rit prays in you, lives in you, walks i'n you. God loves
the work of his own Spirit. Just as you love flowers of your own
planting, as you love a spot that you have laid out much on : so
God loves his children, not for anything of their own, but for what
he has done foi them, and in them. They are dear-bought, he has

252 SERMON XLII.

bought them with his own blood. He waters them every moment,
lest any hurt them ; he keeps them by night and by day, and how
can he but love them ? He loves the place where his Spirit dwells.
Just as God loved the temple: "This is my rest: here will 1
dwell, for I have desired it," not for any good in it, but because it
was the place of his feet ; because he had done so much for it ; so
God loves his Christians, just because he dwells in them, and has
done so much for them. Just as it was with Aaron's rod : it was
a dry stick, like any other rod ; but God made it bud forth, ana
bloom blossoms, and bear ripe almonds ; and therefore he caused
it to be laid up in the holiest of all. So is a Christian a dry tree ;
but God makes him bear fruit, and loves the work of his own
hands. Dear Christians, walk after the Spirit, and please God
more and more. He saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. His
countenance doth behold the upright : " I love them that love me."

II. God will bring all his people to glory. — There are many
difficulties in the way. 1. So it was with Israel. The cities were
walled and very great ; the inhabitants were gigantic and strong ;
they fell before them like grasshoppers. 2. So it is with God's
children : they have many and great enemies — the devil, and his
angels, once the brightest and highest of created intelligences, now
the great enemy of souls. He is against the Christian. The world
is full of giants, all opposing God's children. The persecutions of
the ungodly, the allurements of pleasure, these are great enemies
in the way. There are giant lusts in the heart: the lust of praise,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life. Before
these the soul feels like a grasshopper, without strength : " We
ace not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger
than we."

Arg. If he delight in us, he will bring us into this land.

He is able; "If God be for us, who can be against us?" 1.
God is stronger than Satan. Satan is nothing in his hand. It is
easier for God to crush Satan under our feet, than for you to
crush a fly. God is infinitely stronger than Satan. Satan can no
more hinder God from carrying us to glory than a little fly can,
which you crush with your foot. " He shall bruise Satan under
your feet shortly." Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil,
and he will flee from you. 2. Stronger than the world. The
world often comes against us like armed men ; but if God be for
us, who can be against us ? " The people shall be like bread." It
is as easy to overcome all opposition when God is with us, as for
a hu.igry man to eat bread. It was God that girded Cyrus, though
he did not know him. So he does still : worldly men are a rod
in God's hand. God puts it this way or that way, to fulfil all his
pleasure ; and when he has. done with it he will break it in pieces,
and cast it into the fire. ' So fear not them that kill the body,
and after that have no more that they can do." Oh ! Christian, if

SERMON XLII. 253

you would live by faith, you might live a happy life ! 3. Strongei
than our own heart. There is many a Jericho in our own heart
walled up to heaven, many a fortress of sin, many giant lusts
which threaten our souls. " O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death?" "If the Lord
delight in us, he will bring us into the good land." By faith the
wails of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven
days. God made the walls of Jericho fall flat, by a mere breath
of wind — a noise ; so he is able still. Settle it in your hearts ;
there is no Jericho in your hearts which God is not able to make
fall in a moment. You have seen a shepherd carrying a sheep on
his shoulder ; he meets with many a stone on the way, many a
thorn, many a stream ; yet the sheep feels no difficulty ; it is
carried above all. So it is with every soul that yields itself to
God ; the only difficulty is to lie on his shoulder.

Apply to young Christians. Learn where your sanctification
lies — in God : " With thee is the fountain of life." " Your life is
hid with Christ in God." Your holiness does not depend on you,
but on him* It is a hard lesson to learn, that you cannot sanctify
yourself, that you cannot overcome these giants, and scale these
walls. You have learned one humbling lesson, that you have no
righteousness ; that nothing you have done or can do will justify
you. Now, learn another humbling lesson, that even when par-
doned you have no strength. It is the most humbling of all things
to lie like a sheep on his shoulders ; but, oh ! it is sweet. Be lik«-
Aaron's rod, a dry stick in yourself, till he shall make you bud
and blossom, and bear fruit. Say like Ephraim : " I am a green
fir tree ;" and hear God say : " From me is thy fruit found."

To fallen Christians. Some of you may have fallen into sin.
The reason was just this : you forgot where your strength Jay.
It was not the force of passion nor the power of Satan, nor the
allurement of the world that made you tall, it was unbelief; you
did not lie in his hand.

To aged Christians. You have come to the border of the
promised land, and still your enemies seem giants, and the cities
walled up to heaven, and you feel like a grasshopper. Still, if
the Lord delight in you, he will keep you in the love of God. He
that saved you out of the mouth of the lion, and out of the paw
of the bear, will save you out of the hand of this Philistine. Trust
God to the end.

Even in the valley of the shadow of death, look back over all
your deliverances ; look over all the Ebenezers you have raised,
and say : —

After so much mercy past,
Canst thou let me sink at last ?

SERMON XLIII.

SERMON XLIII.

FAMILY GOVERNMENT.

"For I know him, that he will command his children and his household alter him
and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment ; that the
Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." — Gen
xviii., 19

THERE are three things very remarkable in these words. 1.
That Abraham used parental authority in governing his family :
" I know him, that he will command his children and servants
after him." He did not think it enough to pray for them, or to
teach them, but he used the authority which God had given him,
he commanded them. 2. That he cared for his servants as well
as his children. In chap, xiv., verse 14, we learn that Abraham
had three hundred and eighteen servants born in his house. He
lived after the manner of patriarchal times ; as the Arabs of the
wilderness do to this day. His family was very large, and yet
he did not say, " They are none of mine." He commanded his
children and his household. 3. His success : " They shall keep
the way of the Lord." It is often said that the children of good
men turn out ill. Well, here is a good man, and a good man
doing his duty by his children, and here is the result. His son
Isaac was probably a child of God from his earliest years. There
is every mark of it in his life. And what a delightful specimen of
a believing, prayerful servant was Eliezer. — Gen. xxiv.
It is the duty of all believers to rule their houses well.

I. The springs of this duty.

1. Love to souls. — As long as a man does not care for his own
soul, he does not care for the souls of others. He can see his
wife and children living in sin, going down to hell, he does not
care. He does not care for missions, gives nothing to support
missionaries. But the moment a man's eyes are opened to the
value of his own soul, that moment does he begin to care for the
souls of othir?. F/om that moment does he love the missionary
cause. He wi»IJR£»y spares a little to send the Gospel to the Jew
and the perish:/) ,> Hindus. Again, he begins to care for the
Church at home, 'or his neighbors, all living in sin. Like the
maniac at Dec^.poli?, he publishes the name of Jesus wherever
he goes. And now he begins to care for his own house. He
commands his chiMren and his household after him. How is it
with you? Do you rule well your own house? Do you worship
God, morning and evening, in your family? Do you deal with
your children and servants touching their conversion? If not,
you do not love th-.-ir souls. And the reason is, you do not lovo

SERMON XLIII. 255

your own. You may make what outward profession you please ;
you may sit down at sacraments, and talk about your feelings,
&c., but if you do not labor for the conversion of your children,
it is all a lie. If you but felt the preciousness of Christ, you
could not look upon their faces without a heart-breaking desire
that they might be saved. Thus Rahab, Josh, ii., 13.

2. Desire to use all talents for Chj-ist. — When a man comes to
Christ, he feels he is not his own. — 1 Cor. vi., 19. He hears
Christ say, "Occupy till I come." If he be a rich man, he
uses all for Christ, like Gaius. If a learned man, spends all
for Christ, like Paul. Now, parental authority is one talent, the
authority of a father and master is a talent, for the use of which
men will be judged. He uses this also for Christ. He commands
his children and his household after him. How is it with you?
Do you use this talent for Christ? If not, you have never given
yourself away to him, you are not his.

II. Scripture examples of it.

1. Abraham. The most eminent example of it, the father of all
believers. Are you a child of Abraham? Then walk in his
steps in this. Wherever Abraham went, he built an altar to the
Lord.

2. Job. Upon every one of his sons' birth-days Job offered sa-
crifice, according to the number of them all. — Chap, i., 5.

3. Joshua : " As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
— Chap, xxiv., 15.

4. Eunice. From a child, little Timothy knew the Scriptures ;
and the reason of this you understand, when you read of the faith
of his mother Eunice. — 2 Tim. iii., 15, with i., 5. Such was the
manner in Scotland in the days of our fathers ; and if ever we
are to see Scotland again a garden of the Lord, it must be by the
reviving of family government.

III. The manner of it.

1. Worship God in your family. — If you do not worship
God in your family, you are living in positive sin ; you may
be quite sure you do not care for the souls of your family. If you
neglected to spread a meal for your children to eat, would it not
be said that you did not care for their bodies ? And if you do not
lend your children and servants to the green pastures of God's
Word, and to seek the living water, how plain is it that you do
not care for their souls ! Do it regularly, morning and evening.
It is more needful than your daily food, more needful than your
work. How vain and silly all your excuses will appear, when
you look back from hell ! Do it fully. Some clip on the psalm,
and some the readin-g of the Word ; and so the worship of God is
reduced to a mockery. Do it in a spiritual, lively manner. Go
to it as to a well of salvation. There is, perhaps no mean of

256 SERMON XL1II.

grace more blessed. Let all your family be present without fail,
let none be awanting.

2. Command, use parental authority. — How awfully did God
avenge it upon Eli, 4< because his sons made themselves vile, and
he restrained them not !" Eli was a good man, and a holy man ;
and often he spoke to his two wicked sons, but they heeded not
But herein he tailed, he did not use his parental authority, he did
not restrain them. Remember Eli. It is not enough to pray for
your children, and to pray with them, and to warn them ; but you
must restrain them. Restrain them with the cords of love. From
wicked books, from wicked companions, from wicked amusements,
from untimely hours, restrain them.

3. Command servants as well as children. — So did Abraham.
Remember you are in the place of a father to your servants.
They are come under your roof; and they have a claim on your
instructions. If they minister to you in carnal things, it is but fair
that you minister to them in spiritual things. You have drawn
them away from under the parental roof, and it is your part to see
that they do not lose by it. Oh ! what a mass of sin would he
prevented, if masters would care for their servants' souls !

4. Deal with each as to the conversion of his soul. — I have
known many dear Christian parents who have been singularly
neglectful in this particular. They worship God in the family,
and pray earnestly in secret for their children and servants, and
yet never deal with them as to their conversion. Satan spreads
a kind of false modesty among parents, that they will not inquire
of their little ones, Have you found the Lord, or no ? Ah ! how
sinful and foolish this will appear in eternity. If you should see
some of your children or servants in hell, all because you did not
speak to them in private, how would you look ? Begin to-night.
Take them aside and ask, What has G*od done for your soul ?

5. Lead a holy life before them. — If all your religion is on your
tongue, your children and servants will soon find out your hy-
pocrisy.

IV. The blessing.

1. You will avoid the curse. — You will avoid Eli's curse. Eli
was a child of God, and yet he suffered much on account of his
unfaithfulness. He lost his two sons in one day. If you would
avoid Eli's curse, avoid Eli's sin. " Pour out thy fury on the fami-
lies that have not called on thy name" — Jer. x., 25. If you do not
worship God in your house, a curse is written over your door. If
I could mark the dwellings in this town where there is no family
prayer, these are the spots where the curse of God is ready to fall.
These houses are over hell.

2. Your children will be saved — So it was with Abraham. His
dear son Isaac was saved. What became of Ishmael I do not
know. Only I remember his fervent cry : " O that Ishmael might

SERMON XLIV. 257

ive before thee !" Such is the promise : " Train up a child in the
way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
Such is the promise in baptism. Ah ! who can tell the blessed-
ness of being the saved father of a saved family ? Dear believ-
ers, be wise. Surely if anything could mar the joy of heaven, it
would be to see your children lost through your neglect. Dear
unconverted souls, if one pang can be more bitter than another in
hell, it will be to hear your children say : " Father, mother, you
brought me here."

SERMON XLIV.

AND IN THIS MOUNTAIN.

" And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat
things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on thi
lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering
cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow •

up death in victory ; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces;
and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth ; for the
Lord hath spoken it." — Isa. xxv., 6-8.

THESE words are yet to be fulfilled at the second coming of the
Saviour. It is true that the Lord of hosts has long ago prepared
this feast, and sent out his servants, saying : " Come, for all things
are ready." But it is just as true, that the veil that is spread over
all nations is not yet taken away ; and Paul tells us plainly, in 1
Cor. xv., 54, that it is in the resurrection morning that these
words shall be quite fulfilled : " He hath swallowed up death in
victory."

Still these words have been in some measure fulfilled wherever
there has been a peculiar outpouring of the Spirit upon any place.
Often at sacrament seasons in our own land, these words have
been fulfilled. God has made Christ a feast of fat things to hun-
gry souls. The veil of unbelief has been torn from many hearts,
and the tears wiped away from many eyes. It is my humble but
earnest desire that next Sabbath day may be such a day in this
place.* I want to engage all of you who are the children of
God to secret and united prayer that it may be so; and I have
therefore, chosen these words by which to stir you up to pray.

I. Consider the Feast. II. The tearing away of the veil. III.
The effects of it.
]. The Feast.

* The Communion Sabbath.
17

258 SERMON XLIV.

1. Where is it? Any. " In this mountain." (1.) Moriah? Ah!
it was here that Abraham offered up Isaac. It was here that the
passovcr lamb used to be slain. It was here that Jesus stood and
cried, " If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink." (2.)
Mount Olivet? It was here that Jesus said, •' I am the true vine. '
It was here that Jesus had the cup of wrath set down before him,
ic that night in which he was betrayed. (3.) Mount Calvary?
It was ht re that they crucified Jesus — and two thieves, one on
each hand. It was here that the passers-by wagged their heads,
the chief priests mocked, and the thieves cast the same in his teeth.
It was here that there was three hours' darkness. It was here
they pierced his hands and feet. It was here that God forsook
his own Son. It was here that .infinite wrath was laid upon an
infinite Saviour: "In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make
unto all people a feast of fat things."

To anxious souls. — The world tries to cheer you ; they bid you
go into company, see more of the world, enjoy pleasure, and drive
away these dull thoughts. They spread a feast for you in some
lighted hall, with brilliant lamps ; and the pipe and the tabor, and
wine are in their feasts. Oh ! anxious soul, flee these things :
remember Lot's wife. If you are anxious about your soul, flee
from the feasts of the world. Stop your ears, and run. Look
here how God tries to cheer you: he, too, prepares a feast; but
where ? On Calvary. There is no light ; it is all darkness round
the cross ; no music, but the groan of a dying Saviour : '• Eli !
Eli ! — my God ! my God !" Oh ! anxious soul, it is there you will
find peace and rest. " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The darkest hour that
ever was in this world gives light to the weary soul. The sight
of the cross brings within sight of the crown. That dying sigh,
which made the rocks to rend, alone can rend the veil, and give
you peace. The Place of a Skull is the place of joy.

2. Wliat is it ? — A feast of fat things, of wines on the lees. .

(1.) A feast. It is not a meal, but a feast. At a meal, it is well
if there be enough for all who sit round the table : but at a feast,
there should be more than enough ; there is a liberal abundance.
The Gospel is compared to a feast : " Come, eat of my bread, and
drink of the wine that I have mingled." — Prov. ix.

Again, in the Song of Songs : " He brought me to the banquet-
ing house, and his banner over me was love." " Stay me with
flagons, comfort me with apples; for I am sick of love." Again,
in Matt. xxii. : " Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have pre-
pared my dinner ; my oxen and my fallings are killed, and -all
things are ready : come unto the marriage."

So it is in Jesus ; there is bread enough and to spare. He
came that we might have life, and might have it more abundantly.
There is a feast in a crucified Jesus. His dying in the stead of
sinners is enough, and more than enough, to answer for our sins.

SERMON XLIV. 259

It is not only equal to my dying, but it is far more glorifying to
God and his holy law, than if I had suffered a hundred deaths.
" Comfort ye, comfort ye ; ye have received at the Lord's hand
double for all your sins." His obeying in the stead of sinners is
enough, and more than enough, to cover our nakedness. It is not
only equal to my obeying, but it is far more glorifying to God than
if I had never sinned. His garment not only clothes the naked
soul, but clothes from head to foot ; so that no shame appears ;
only Christ appears, the soul is hid. His Spirit is not only
enough, but more than enough, to make us holy. There is a well
in Christ which we never can exhaust — still rivers of grace which
we never can drink dry.

Christians, learn to feed more on Christ : " Eat, O friends !
drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved !" When you are asked
to a feast, there is no greater affront you can put upon the enter-
tainer than by being content with a crumb below the table. Yet
this is the way the Christians of our day affront the Lord of glory.
Oh how few seem to feed much on Christ ! how few seem to put
on his white flowing raiment ! how few seem to drink deep into
his Spirit ! Most are content with now and then a glimpse of
pardon, a crumb from the table, and a drop of his Spirit. Awake,
dear friends ! " These things have I spoken unto you that your joy
may be full."

(2.) A feast of fat things, of wines on the lees.

The fat things full of marrow are intended to represent the rich-
est and most nourishing delicacies ; and the wines on the lees
well refined, to represent the oldest and richest wines ; so that, not
only is there abundance in this feast, but abundance of the best.
Ah ! so it is in Christ. First, There is forgiveness of all past sins.
Ah ! this is the richest of all delicacies to a heavy laden soul. As
cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
A good conscience is a. perpetual feast. Oh ! weary sinner, taste
and see. " I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and
his fruit was sweet to my taste." These are the apples that a
weary soul cries out for: "Comfort -me with apples; for I am
sick of love." Second, There are the smiles of the Father. The
Father himself loveth you. Oh, to pass from the frown of an angry
God into the smile of a loving Father ! this is a feast to the soul ;
this is to pass from death unto life. Third, The droppings of the
Spirit into the soul — ah ! it is this which comforts the soul. This
is the oil of gladness that makes the face to shine. This makes
the cup run over. This is the full well rising within the soul, at
once comforting and purifying. Dear friends, be not filled with
wine, wherein is excess ; but be filled with the Spirit. These are
the flagons that stay the soul. May you be in the Spirit on the
Lord's-day !

3. For whom is it ? Unto all people. " The Gospel is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the

260 SERMON XLIV.

Jew first, and also to the Greek." " Go ye into all the world, ana
preach the Gospel to every creature." Ah ! there is not a crea-
ture under heaven for whom the feast is not prepared. There is
not a creature from whorn" we can keep back the message :
" All things are reudy ; come to the marriage."

Dear anxious souls, why do you keep away from Christ? you
say Christ is far from you ; alas ! he has been at your door all
day. Christ is as free to you as to any that ever came to him.
Come hungry, come empty, come sinful, come as you are to feed
on glorious Jesus. He is a feast to the hungry soul.

Dear dead souls, that never felt one throb of anxiety, that never
uttered one heartfelt cry to God, th s message is for you. The
feast is for all people. Christ is as free to you as to any other :
" How long, ye simple ones, will ye love your simplicity ?" " The
Spirit and the bride say, Come."

II. The tearing away of the veil.

1. Observe there is a veil over every natural heart, a thick im-
penetrable veil. (1.) There was a veil in the temple over the
entrance to the holiest of all, so that no eye could see the beauty
of the Lord within. (2.) There was a veil over the face of Moses
when he came down from the mount, for something of the bright-
ness of Christ shone in his countenance. When the veil was down
they could not see his glory. (3.) So there is a veil upon the
hearts of the Jews to this day, when Moses and the prophets are
read to them. (4.) So is there a veil over your hearts, so many
of you as are in your natural state ; a thick, impenetrable veil ;
its name is unbelief. The same veil that hid the beauty of the
promised land from Israel in Kadesh-barnea — " for they could
not enter in, because of unbelief" — that veil is over your hearts
this day.

Learn the great reason of your indifference to Christ. The veil
is upon your heart. God may lay down all the riches of his
bosom on the table — the unsearchable riches of Christ ; yet so
long as that veil is over you, you will not move. You see no form
nor comeliness in Christ : " And when we shall see him. there is no
beauty that we should desire him." — Isa. liii., 2. " The natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are
foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned." — 1 Cor. ii., 14.

2. Who takes the veil away ? Ans. The Lord of hosts : he
that makes the feast is he that tears the veil away. Ah ! it is a
work of God to take away that covering. We may argue wrth
you till midnight, telling you of your sin and misery — we may
brin<r all the sweetest words in the Bible to show you that Christ
is fairer than the children of men ; still you will go home and say,
We see no beauty in him. But God can take away the veil ;
sometimes he does it in a moment — sometimes slowly ; then Christ

SERMON XLIV. 26l

is revealed, and Christ is precious. There is not one of you so
sunk in sin and worldliness — so dull and heartless in the things of
God — but your heart would be overcome by the sight of an un-
veiled Saviour. Oh ! let us plead this promise with God
" He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering casi
over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations/
Come and do it, Lord. " I will pour out my Spirit unto you."
Pour quickly, Lord.

3. Where ? " In this mountain" — in the same place where he
makes the feast ; he takes the soul to Calvary. Ah, yes ; it is
within sight of the crucified Saviour that God takes every veil
away.

Anxious souls, wait near the cross. Meditate upon Christ* and
him crucified. It is there that God tears the veil away. Be often
at Gethsemane — be often at Golgotha. Oh ! that next Sabbath he
may reveal himself to all in the breaking of bread. As easy to
a thousand as to one soul !

III. Effects.

1. Triumph over death. (1.) Even here this is fulfilled. Often
the fear of death is taken away in those who trembled before.
The soul that has really had the veil taken away can go through
the valley, if not singing, at least humbly trusting, and can say at
the end, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Ah! nothing but a
real sight of Christ can cheer in death. Worldly people can die
stupidly and insensibly ; but the unveiled Christian alone can feel
in death that the sting is taken away. (2.) In resurrection. When
we stand like Christ in body and soul — " When the sea has given
up the dead that are in it, and death and hell the dead that are in
them" — " When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption —
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory."

Dear friends, what solemn scenes are before us ! Ah ! nothing
but a sight of Christ as our own Surety and Redeemer can uphold
us, in sight of opening graves and reeling worlds. We shall re-
member his own words, and be still : " I will ransom them from
the power of the grave : I will redeem them from death. O death,
I will be thy plagues ; O grave, I will be thy destruction." "Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me may be with me,
where I am, that they may behold my glory."

2. Triumph over sorrow. (1.) Even here, God wipes away the
tears of conviction, the tears of sin and shame, by revealing Christ.
A work of grace always begins in tears ; but when God takes the
soul to Calvary — look here : Tuere are thy sins laid upon Irn-
inanuel ; there the Lamb of God is bearing them ; there is all the
hell that thou shalt suffer. Oh, how sweetly does God wipe away
the tears ! Anxious souls, may God do this for you next Sabbath-
day ! (2.) Complete fulfilment after. There will always be lean

SERMON XLV.

nere, because of sin, temptation, sorrow ; but there " they shaft
hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst
of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto livin^
fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes."

a. Triumph over reproaches. — Even here God lifts his people
above reproaches ; he enables them to bless, and curse not : '• Love
your enemies ; bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and per-
secute you." But there shall be full triumph yonder. He will
clear up our character. Here we may endure reproaches all the
way! Christians are slighted, despised, trampled on, here ; but
God will acknowledge them as his jewels at last. The world will
stand aghast.

SERMON XLV.

THE HEART DECEITFUL.

" The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked : who can know
it ? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man accord-
ing to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." — Jer. xvii., 9, 10.

I. The state of the natural heart. — Verse 9. This is a faithful
description of the natural heart of man: The heart of unlallen
Adam was very different. " God made man upright." His mind
was clear and heavenly. It was riveted upon divine things. He
saw their glory without any cloud or dimness. His heart was
right with God. His affections flowed sweetly and fully towards
God. He loved as God loved, hated as God hated. There was
no deceit about his heart then. It was transparent as crystal.
He had nothing to conceal. There was no wickedness in his
heart; no spring of hatred, or lust, or pride.. He knew his own
heart. He could see clearly into its deepest recesses ; for it was
just a reflection of the heart of God. When Adam sinned, his
heart was changed. When he lost the favor of God he lost the
image of God. Just as Nebuchadnezzar suddenly got a beast's
heart, so Adam suddenly got a heart in the image of the devil.
And this is the description ever since. "The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked." — Verse 9.

1. It is " deceitful above all things" — Deceit is one of the prime
elements of the natural heart. It is more full of deceit than any
other object. We sometimes call the sea deceitful. At evening
the sea appears perfectly calm, or there is a gentle ripple on the

SERMON tLV.

waters, and the wind blows favorably ; during the night a storm
may come on, and the treacherous waves are now like mountain
billows covering the ship. But the hoart is deceitful above all
things : more treacherous than the treacherous sea. The clouds
are often very deceitful. Sometimes, in a time of drought, they
promise rain ; but they turn out to be clouds without rain, and the
farmer is disappointed. Sometimes the clouds appear calm and
settled ; but, before the morning, torrents of rain are falling. But
the heart is deceitful above all things. Many animals are de-
ceitful. The serpent is more subtle than any beast of the field :
sometimes it will appear quite harmle>s, but suddenly it will put
out its deadly sting and give a mortal wound. But the natural
heart is more deceitful than a serpent ; aboce all things. It is
deceitful in two ways ; in deceiving others and itself

(1.) In. deceiving others. — Every natural man is a hypocrite.
He is different in reality from what he appears to be. I undertake
to say, that there is not a natural man present here to-day in his true
colors. If every natural man here were to throw off his disguise,
and appear as he really is, this church would look more like the
gate of hell than the gate of heaven. If every unclean man were
to lay bare his heart, and show his abominable, filthy desires and
thoughts ; if every dishonest man were now to open his heart, and
let us see all his frauds, all his covetous, base desires ; if every
proud, self-conceited one were now to show us what is going on
below his coat, or below that silk gown ; to let us see the paltry
schemes of vanity and desire of praise ; if every unbeliever among
you were openly to reveal his hatred of Christ and of the blessed
Gospel, O what a hell would this place appear ! Why is it not so ?
Because natural men are deceitful ; because you draw a cloak over
your heart, and put on a smooth face, and make the outside of a
siint cover the heart of a fiend. Oh ! your heart is deceitful above
all things. Every natural man is a flatterer. He does not tell
other men what he thinks of them. There is no plain, honest
dealing between natural men in this world. Those of you who
know anything of this world, know how hollow the most of its
friendships are. Just imagine for a moment that every natural man
were to speak the truth, when he meets his friends; suppose he
were to tell them all the bitter slanders which he tells of them
a hundred times behind their back ; suppose he were to unbosom
himself, and tell all his low, mean ideas of them ; how worldly and
selfish they are in his eyes ; alas ! what a world of quarrels this
would be. Ah, no! natural man, you dare not be honest; you
dare not speak the truth one to another; your heart is so vile that
you must draw a cloak over it ; and your thoughts of others so
abominable that you dare not speaK \hern out: " The heart is de-
ceitful above all things."

(2.} It shows itself in another way. in sell-deceit. Ever since
my Doming among you I have labored with all my might to sepa«

264 SERMON X^V.

rate between the precious and the vile. I have given you many
marks, by which you might know whether or not you have un-
dergone a true conversion, or whether it has only been a deceit
of Satan — whether your peace was the peace of God or the peace
of the devil — whether you were on the narrow way that leads to
life, or on the broad way that leads to destruction. I have done
my best to give you the plainest Scripture marks by which you
might know your real case ; and yet I would not be in the least
surprised, if the most of you were found at the last to have de-
ceived yourselves. Often a man is deeply concerned about his
soul ; he weeps and prays, and joins himself to others who are
inquiring. He now changes his way of life, and changes his no-
tions ; he talks of his experience, and enlargement in prayer ;
perhaps he condemns others very bitterly ; and yet has no true
change of life, walks after the flesh still, not after the Spirit. Now,
others think this man a true Christian, and he believes it himself;
yea, he thinks he is a very eminent Christian ; when, all the time,
he has not the Spirit of Christ, and is none of his. Ah ! " the
heart is deceitful above all things."

2. " Desperately wicked" — This word is borrowed from the
book of the physician. When the physician is called to see a pa-
tient past recovery, he shakes his head and says : This is a despe-
rate case. This is the very word used here. " The heart is des-
perately wicked," past cure by human medicine. Learn that you
need conversion, or a new heart. When we speak of the necessity
of a change to some people, they begin to be affected by it, and so
they put away some evil habits, as drinking, or swearing, or lying;
they put these away, and promise never to go back to them ; and
now they think the work is done, and they are in a fair way for
heaven. Alas, foolish man ! it is not your drinking, or your
swearing, or your lying, that acre desperately wicked, but your
heart. You have only been cutting off the streams, the heart
remains as wicked as ever. It is the heart that is incurable. It
is a new heart you need. Nothing less will answer your need.
Learn that you must go to Christ for this. When the woman had
speet her all upon physicians, and was nothing better, but rather
worse, she heard of Jesus. Ah ! said she. if I may but " touch
the hem of his garment I shall be made whole." Jesus said to
her : " Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee
whole." Come, then, incurable, to Christ. The leprosy was al-
ways regarded as incurable. Accordingly, the leper came to
Jesus, and worshipping, said: "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. Jesus said, I will, be thou clean ; and immedi-
ately his leprosy was cleansed." Some of you feel that your
heart is desperately wicked ; well, kneel to the Lord Jesus, and
say : " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." You are
a leper — incurable ; Jesus is able — he is also willing to make yr»u
clean.

SERMON XLV. 265

3. Unsearchably wicked: "Who can know it?" — No man ever
yet knew the badness of his own heart. We are sailing over i
sea the depths of which we have never fathomed. (1.) Unawak*
enedpersons have no idea of what is in their heart. When Elijah
told Hazael what a horrible murderer he would be, Hazael said .
"Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?" The seeds of
it were all in his heart at that moment; but he did not. know his own
heart. If I had tpld some of you, when you were little children
playing beside your mother's knee, the sins that you were afterwards
to commit, you would have said : " Am I a dog, that I should do this
thing?" andyet you see you have done them. If I could show each
of you the sins that you are yet to commit, you would be shocked
and horrified. This shows how ignorant you are of your own heart.
I suppose that the most of you think it quite impossible you should
ever be guilty of murder, or adultery, or apostasy, or the sin
against the Holy Ghost ; this arises from ignorance of your own
black heart : " Who can know it?" (2.) Some awakened persons
have an awful sight given them of the wickedness of their own
hearts. They see all the sins of their pnst life, as it were, con-
centrated there. They see that their past sins all come out of
their heart — and that the same may come out again. And yet
the most awakened sinner does not see the ten thousandth part
of the wickedness of his heart. You are like a person looking
down into a dark pit ; you can only see a few yards down the
side of the pit ; so you can only see a little way down into your
heart. It is a pit of corruption which is bottomless : " Who can
know it?" (3.) Some children of God have amazing discoveries
given them of the wickedness of their own hearts. Sometimes
it is given them to see that the germs of every sin are lodging
there. Sometimes they see that there never was a sin commuted,
in heaven, in earth, or in hell, but it has something corresponding
to it in their own heart. Sometimes they see, that if there were
not another fountain of sin, from which 'the fair face of creation
might be defaced, their own heart is a fountain inexhaustible,
enough to corrupt every creature, and to defile every fair spot in
the universe. And yet even they do not know their own hearts.
You are like a traveller looking down into the crater of a volcano;
but the smoke will not suffer you to look far. You see only a few
yards into the smoking volcano of your own heart.

Learn to be humbled far more than you have ever been. None
of you have ever been sufficiently humbled under a sense of sin;
for this reason, that none of you have ever seen fully the plague
of your own heart. There are chambers in your heart you have
never yet seen into. There are caves in that ocean you have
never fathomed. There are fountains of bitterness you have
never tasted. When you have felt the wickedness of youi
heart to the uttermost, then lie down under this awful truth, that
you have only seen a few yards into a pit that is bottomless, thai

266 SERMON XLV.

you carry about with you a slumbering volcano ; a heart whosi
wickedness you do not and cannot know.

II. The witness of the heart.

1. " /, the Lord. We have seen that we do not know one ano-
ther's hearts ; for "the heart is deceitful." Man looketh on tho
outward appearance. We have seen that no man knows his own
heart, that the most know nothing of what is there ; and those who
know most, see but a short way down. But here is an unerring
witness. He that made man knows what is in man.

2. Observe what a strict witness he is : " I, the Lord, search the
heart, I try the reins." It is not said, I know the heart — but, I
search it. The heart of man is not one of the many objects upon
which God turns his all-seeing eye, but it is one which he singles
out for investigation : " I search the heart." As the astronomer
directs his telescope upon the very star which he wishes to ex-
amine, and arranges all his lenses, that he may most perfectly look
at it, so doth God's calm eye pore upon the naked breast of every
man. As the refiner of silver keeps his eye upon the fining-pot,
watching every change in the boiling metal ; so doth God's eye
watch every change in the bosom of man. Oh ! natural man,
can you bear this? How vain are all your pretences and coverings ;
God sees you as you are. You may deceive your neighbor, 01
your minister, or yourself, but you cannot deceive God.

3. Observe he is a constant witness. — He does not say I have
searched, or I will do it — but, I search — I do it now, and always.
Not a moment of our life but his pure, calm, searching eye ha_
been gazing on the inmost recesses of our hearts. From childhood
to old age his eye rests on us. The darkness hideth not from him.
The darkness and the light are both alike to him.

4. Observe his end in searching : " Even to give every man
according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
Verse 10. In order to know the true value of an action, you must
search the heart. Many an action that is applauded by men,
is abominable in the sight of God, who searches the heart. To
give an alms to a poor man, may either be an action worthy of
an eternal reward, or worthy of an eternal punishment. If it be
done out of love to Christ, because the poor man is a disciple of
Christ, it will in no wise lose its reward ; Christ will say ; " Inas-
much as ye did it to the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto
me." If it be done out of pride-or self-righteousness, Christ will cast
it from him: he will say, "Depart ye cursed — ye did it not unto me."
The reason, then, why Christ searches the heart is, that he may
judge uprightly in the judgment. Oh, sirs ! how can you bear this,
you that are Christless ? How can you bear that eye on your
heart all your days, and to be judged according to what his pure
eye sees in you ? Oh ! do you not see it is a gone case with you ?
' Enter not into judgment with thy servant ; for in thy sight shall

SERMON XLVI. 26?

no flesh living be justified." Oh ! if your heart be desperately
wicked, and his pure eye ever poring on it, what can you expect,
but that he should cast you into hell ? Oh ! flee to the Lord Jesus
Christ for shelter, for blood to blot out past sins, and righteousness
to cover you. " See, God, our shield."

Learn the amazing love of Christ. — He was the only one that
knew the wickedness of the beings for whom he died. He that
searches the hearts of sinners died for them. His eye alone had
searched their hearts ; aye, was searching at the time he came.
He knew what was in man ; yet he did not abhor them on that
account — he died for them. It was not for any goodness in man
that he died for man. He saw none. It was not that he saw
little sin in the heart of man, that he pitied him and died for him.
He is the only being in the universe that saw all the sin that is in
the unfathomable heart of man. He saw to the bottom of the
volcano, and yet he came and died for man. Herein is love !
When publicans and sinners came to him on earth, he knew what
was in their hearts. His eye had rested on their bosoms all their life,
he had seen all the lusts and passions that had ever rankled there ;
yet in no wise did he cast them out. So with you. His eye hath
seen all your sins ; the vilest, darkest, blackest hours you have
lived, his pure eye was resting on you ; yet he died for such,
and invites you to come to him ; and will in no wise cast you
out. Amen.

SERMON XLVI.

TRUST IN THE LORD.

" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart ; and lean not unto thine own understand-
ing."— Prov iii., 5.

WHEN an awakened soul is brought to God to believe on Jesus,
he enjoys for the first time that calm and blessed state of mind
which the Bible calls peace in believing. The sorrows of death
were compassing him, and the pains of hell getting hold on him ;
but now he can say : " Return unto thy rest, O rny soul." It is
not to be wondered at, that when this heaven upon earth is first
realized in the once anxious bosom, the young believer should often
imagine that heaven is already gained, and that he has bid fare-
well to sin and sorrow for evermore. But, alas ! it may need but
the passing away of one little day to convince him that heaven is
not yet gained, that though the Red Sea may be passed, yet there
is a wide howling wilderness to pass through, and many au euemy

268 SERMON XLVI.

to be overcome, before the soul can enter into the land of which
it is said, that " the people are all righteous."

The first breath of temptation from without, or the first rise of
corruption from within, awakens new and strange anxieties within
the believing bosom. He had just put on the breastplate of the
Redeemer's righteousness, but these noxious vapors tarnish and
bedim its burnished steel. Alas ! he cries, what good will it do
me to be rid of all accusations from past sins, if I am not secure
from raising up new accusers in the days to come ? What good
will the forgiveness of past sins do me, if, every step of my life, I
am to fall into new sin f

The young believer in this state of mind is just like a traveller
in the midst of a dangerous wood. He has been brought into a
place of perfect security for the present. He can hear the cry
of the wolves behind him without the least alarm, for he is brought
into a fortress, a strong tower, where he is safe ; but when he
thinks of his further journey, when he remembers that he is still
in the midst of the wood, and still far from home, alas ! he knows
not how to move ; he knows not which path will lead him right,
and which will lead him wrong. When the lost sheep was found
by the good shepherd, it was safe in that moment, as safe as if it
were already in the fold ; and yet it was doubtless in great per-
plexity how to get back again, it had wandered so far over the
mountains, and down into the valleys, and across the brooks, and
through the thorny brakes, that it was impossible the bewildered
sheep could find its way back ; and therefore it is said that the
good shepherd laid it on his shoulder rejoicing.

And just so it is with the soul that is found by Christ. Washed
in his blood, he may feel as secure and as much at peace as if he
were already in heaven ; but when he looks to the thousand en-
tanglements in the midst of which he has wandered, the evil
habits, the evil companions that lay snares for him on every hand,
alas ! he is forced to cry : How shall I walk in such a world as
this ? I thought I was saved ; but, alas ! I am only saved to be
lost again. So real and so painful is this state of mind, that some
young believers have actually wished to die that they might be rid
of these tormenting anxieties. But there is a far more excellent
way pointed out in the words before us :

" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart:
And lean not to thine own understanding
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
And he shall direct thy paths."

This is a word in season to the bewildered believer ; and " a word
•poken in due season, how good is it !"

First of all, Consider what this grace is that is here recom-
mended : " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart."

SERMON XLVI. 269

When the Philippian jailer cried out : " What must I do to be
saved ?" the simple answer was : " Believe on the Lord Jesua
Christ, and thou shall be saved." His great anxiety was to escape
from under the wrath of the God of the earthquake ; and, there-
fore, they simply pointed to the bleeding Lamb of God. He looks
to Jesus doing all that we should have done, and suffering all that
we should have suffered ; and while he looks, his anxiety is healed;
and a sweet heavenly peace springs up within, the peace of be-
lieving. But the inquirer who is spoken to in the text is one who
already enjoys the peace of a justified man, but wants to know
how he may enjoy the peace of a sanctified man. A new anxiety
hath sprung up within his bosom, as to how he shall order his steps
in the world ; and unless this anxiety also can be healed, it is to
be feared his joy in believing will be sadly interrupted. How
seasonable then, is the word which points at once to the re-
medy ! and how amazing is the simplicity of the Gospel method
of salvation, when the sou! is directed just to look again to Jesus:
" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart." When you came to us
weary and heavy laden with guilt, we pointed you to Jesus ; for
he is the Lord our righteousness. When you come to us again,
groaning under the power of indwelling sin, we point you again
to Jesus ; for he is the Lord our strength. It is the true mark of
a false and ignorant physician of bodies, when to every sufferer,
whatever be the disease, he applies the same remedy. But it is
the true mark of a good and faithful physician Oi souls, when, to
every sick and perishing soul, in every stage of t..e disease, he
brings the one, the only remedy, the only balm in Gilead.

Christ was anointed not only to bind up the broken-hearted, but
also to proclaim liberty to the captives ; so that, if it be good and
wise to direct the poor broken-hearted sinner, who has no way of
justifying himself, to Jesus, as his righteousness, it must be just as
good and wise to direct the poor believer, groaning under the
bondage of corruption, having no way to sanctify himself, to look
to Jesus as his wisdom, his sanctification, his redemption. Thou
hast once looked unto Jesus as thy covenant head, bearing all
wrath, fulfilling all righteousness in thy stead, and that gave thee
peace ; well, look again to the same Jesus as thy covenant head,
obtaining by his merits gifts for men, even the promise of the
Father, to shed down on all his members ; and let that also give thee
peace. " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart." Thou hast
looked to Jesus on the cross, and that gave ihee peace of con-
science ; look to him now upon the throne, and that will give thee
purity of heart. I know of but one way in which a branch can
be made a leafy, healthy, fruit-bearing branch ; and that is by be-
ing grafted into the vine, and abiding there. And just so I know
of but one way in which a believer can be made a holy, happy,
fruitful child oi' God ; and that is by believing in Jesus, abiding iu
him, walking in him, being rooted and built up in him.

£70 SERMON XLVI.

And observe it is said ; " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart*
When you believe in Jesus for righteousness, you must castaway
all your own claims for pardon ; your own righteousness must be
liltliy rags in your eyes ; you must come empty, that you may go
a\\ay full of Jesus. And just so, when you trust in Jesus for
strength, you must cast away all your natural notions of your
own strength ; you must feel lhat your own resolutions, and vows,
and promises, are as useless to stem the current of your passions,
as so many straws would be in stemming the mightiest waterfall.
You must feel that your own firmness and manliness of disposi-
tion, which has so long been the praise of your friends and the
boast of your own mind, are as powerless, before the breath of
temptation, as a broken reed before the hurricane. You must feel
that you wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with spirits of
gigantic power, in whose mighty grasp you are feeble as a child ;
then, and then only, will you come with all your heart to trust in
the Lord your strength. When the believer is weakest, then is
he strongest. The child that knows most its utter feebleness,
intrusts itself most completely into the mother's arms. The young
eagle that knows, by many a fall, its own inability to fly, yields
itself to be carried on the mother's mighty wing. When it is
weak, then it is strong ; and just so the believer, when he has found
out, by repeated falls, his own utter feebleness, clings with sim-
plest faith, to the arm of the Saviour — leans on his Beloved, com-
ing up out of the wilderness, and hears with joy the word : " My
grace is sufficient for thee ; my strength is made perfect in weak-
ness."

But secondly, Consider how this grace of trusting hinders the
believer from leaning to his own understanding.

" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
And lean not to thine own understanding."

Well may every soul that is untaught by the Spirit of God ex-
claim: "This is a hard saying, who can hear it ?" and, indeed,
there is perhaps no truth lhat calls forth more of the indignant op-
position of the world than this blessed one — that they who trust
in the Lord with all their heart, do not lean to their own under-
standing. The understanding, here, plainly includes all the ob-
serving, knowing, and judging faculties of the mind, by which
men ordinarily guide themselves in the world ; and, accordingly,
it is with no slight appearance of reasonableness that the wrorld
should brand with the name of fanatics a peculiar set of men, who
dare to say that they are not to lean upon these faculties, to guide
them in their every-day walk and conversation.

But surely it might do something to moderate, at least, the op-
position of the world (if they would but listen to us), to tell them
that we never refuse to be guided by the understanding, although

SERMON XLVI. 271

we altogether refuse to lean upon it. Every enlightened believer
however implicitly he depends upon the breathing of the Holy
Ghost, without whose almighty breathing he knows that his under-
standing would be but a vain and useless machine, leading him
into darkness, and not into light, yet follows the guidance of the
understanding as scrupulously and as religiously as any uncon-
verted man is able to do ; and, therefore, it ought never to be said
by any man who has a regard for truth, that the believer in Jesus
casts aside the use of his understanding, and looks for miraculous
guidance from on high. The truth is this, that he trusts in a di-
vine power, enlightening the understanding, and he therefore fol-
lows the dictates of the understanding more religiously than any
other man.

When a man comes to be in Christ Jesus, he becomes a new
creature, not only in heart, but in understanding also. The his-
tory of the world, the history of missions, and individual experi-
ence, fully prove this ; and it may not be difficult to point out
what may be called natural reasons for the change.

1. When a man becomes a believer, a new and untried field is
opened up for the understanding to penetrate into. It is true that
unconverted men have made dives into the character of God, his
government, his redemption. But the unconverted man never
can gaze on these things with the love of one interested in them ;
and, therefore, he cannot know them at all ; for God must be loved
in order to be known. But reconcile a man to God, and the intel-
ligence springs forward with a power unfelt before, and feels that
this is life eternal, to know God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath
sent. And,

2. When a man becomes a believer, he enters into every pur-
suit impelled by heavenly affections. Before, he had none but
earthly motives to impel him to gather knowledge ; but now a
holy inquisitiveness is instilled into his mind, and a retentiveness
which he never had before. He looks with new eyes upon the
fields, the woods, the hills, the broad resplendent rivers, and says :
" My Father made them all"

But if these are natural reasons for the change, there is one
supernatural reason which is greater than all. The believer's un-
derstanding is new ; for the Spirit of God is now a dweller in his
bosom. He leans upon this almighty guest — trusts in the Lord
the Spirit — with all his heart, and leans not to his own under-
standing. In the Prophet Hosea, the gift of the Spirit is compared
to dew: " I will be as the dew unto Israel." Now, it is peculiarly
true of the dew that it moistens everything where it falls ; it leaves
not one leaf unvisited ; there is not a tiny blade of grass on wi.,ch
its diamond drops do not descend ; every leaf and stem of the
bush is burdened with the precious load ; just so it is peculiarly
true of the Spirit, that there is not a faculty, there is not an affec-
tion, a power, or passion of the soul, on which the Spirit does not

272 SERMON XLVI.

descend — working through all, refreshing, reviving, renewing
recreating all. And if we are really in Christ Jesus, abiding in
him by faith, we are bound to expect this supernatural power to
work through our understanding ; for if we be not led by the
Spirit, we are none of his. But the more implicitly we lean on
this loving Spirit, is it not plain as day that we all the more im-
plicitly follow the guidance of our understanding ? We do not
lean upon our own understanding; for we lean upon the Spirit of
grace and of wisdom, who is promised to guide us into all truth,
and guide our footsteps in the way of peace. But we do not
throw away our own understanding ; because it is through that
understanding alone that we look for the guidance of the Spirit.

In a mill where the machinery is all driven by water, the work-
ing of the whole machinery depends upon the supply of water.
Cut off that supply, and the machinery becomes useless. Set on
the water, and lite and activity is given to all. The whole de-
pendence is placed upon the outward supply of water ; still, it is
obvious that we do not throw away the machinery through which
the power of the water is brought to bear upon the work. Just
so in the believer, the whole man is carried on* by the Spirit of
Christ, else he is none of his. The working of every day depends
upon the daily supply of the living stream from on high. Cut off
that supply, and the understanding becomes a dark and useless
lump of machinery ; for the Bible says that unconverted men
have the understanding darkened. Restore the divine Spfri4., and
life and animation is given to all — the understanding is made a
new creature. Now, though the whole leaning or dependence
here is upon the supply of the Spirit, still it is obvious that we do
not cast away the machinery of the human mind, but rather honor
it far more than the world.

Now, however difficult it may be to explain all this to the
world, it is most beautiful to see how truly it is acted on by the
simplest child of God.

If you could overhear some simple cottage believer at his
morning devotions — how simply he brings himself in lost and
condemned, and therefore cleaves to Jesus, the divine Saviour ! —
how simply he brings himself in dark, ignorant, unable to know
his way — unable to guide his feet, his hands, his tongue, through-
out the coming day ; and, therefore, pleading for the promised
Spirit to dwell in him — to walk in him — to be as the dew upon
his soul ; and all this with the earnestness of a man who will not
go away without the blessing — you would see what a holy con-
tempt a child of God can put upon his own understanding, as a
refuge to lean upon. But, again, if you could watch him in his
daily walk — in the field and in the market-place — among the
wicked world, and see how completely he follows the guidance of
a shrewd and intelligent mind, you would see with what a holy
confidence a child of God can make use of the faculties which

SERMON XLVII. 273

God hath given him ; you would see the happy union of the
deepest piety and the hardest painstaking ; you would know the
meaning of these words : " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart:
and lean not unto thine own understanding."

Dundee Presbytery, 1836

SERMON XLVII.

NOT A JEW WHICH IS ONE OUTWARDLY.

?e is rot a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is
outward in the flesh : but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly : and circumcision
a that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of
nen, but of God."— Rom. ii., 28, 29.

I1 JRMALITY is, perhaps, the most besetting sin of the human mind.
It is found in every bosom and in every clime ; it reigns trium-
phant in every natural mind ; and it constantly tries to re-usurp
the throne in the heart of every child of God. If we were to seek
for proof that fallen man is " without understanding," that he hath
altogether fallen from his primitive clearness and dignity of intel-
ligence ; that he hath utterly lost the image of God, in knowledge,
after which he was created ; we would point to this one strange,
irrational conceit by which more than one-half the world is
befooled to their eternal undoing ; that God may be pleased with
mere bodily prostrations and services ; that it is possible to wor-
ship God with the lips, when the heart is far from him. It is
against this error, the besetting error of humanity, and pre-emi-
nently the besetting error of the Jewish mind, that Paul directs
the words before us ; and it is very noticeable, that he does not
condescend to argue the matter. He speaks with all the decisive-
ness and with all the-authority of one who was not a whit behind
the very chiefest of the apostles, and he lays it down as a kind of
first principle to which every man of ordinary intelligence, provid-
ed only he will soberly consider the" matter, must yicJd his imme-
diate assent, that " he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly ;
neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh ; but he
is a Jew, which is one inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of
men, but of God."

In the following discourse I shall show very briefly, 1st, That
pxternal observances are of no avail to justify tho sinner; and, 2d,
That external observances can never stand in '.he stead of gano
tification to the believer.

18

274 SERMON XLVII.

T. External observances are of no avail to justify the sinner.

In a former discourse I attempted to show several of the refuges
of lies to which the awakened soul will run, before he can be
persuaded to betake himself to the righteousness of God ; and in
every one of them we saw that he that compassed himself about
with' sparks of his own kindling, received only this of God's hand,
to lie down in sorrow. First of all, the soul generally contents
himself with slight views of the divine law, and says : " All these
have I kept from my youth up ;*' but when the spirituality of the
law is revealed, then he tries to escape by undermining the whole
fabric of the law ; but, when that will not do, he flies to his past
virtues to balance accounts with his sins ; and then, when that
will not do, he begins a work of self-reformation, in order to buy
off the follies of youth by the sobrieties of age. Alas ! how vain
•ire all such contrivances, invented by a blinded heart, urged on
by the malignant enemy of souls.

But there is another refuge of lies which I have not yet de-
scribed, and to which the awrakened mind often betakes itself with
avidity, to find peace from the whips of conscience and the scor-
pions of God's law ; and that is, a form of godliness. He will
become a religious man, and surely that will save him. His
whole course of life is now changed. Before, it may be, he ne-
glected the outward ordinances ot religion. He used not to kneel
by his bedside ; he never used to gather his children and servants
around him to pray ; he never used to read the Word in secret,
or in the family ; he seldom went to the house of God in company
with the multitude that kept holy day ; he did not eat of that bread
which, to the believer, is meat indeed, nor drink of that cup which
is drink indeed.

But now his whole usages are reversed, his whole course is
changed. He kneels to pray even when alone ; he reads the
Word with periodical regularity ; he even raises an altar for mor-
ning and evening sacrifice in his family ; his sobered countenance
is never awanting in his wonted position in the house of prayer.
He looks back, now, to his baptism with a soothing complacency,
and sits down to eat the children's bread at the table of the Lord.
His friends and neighbors all observe the change. Some make a
jest of it, and some make it a subject of rejoicing ; but one thing
is obvious, 4hat he is an altered man ; and yet it is far from ob-
vious that he is a new man, or a justified man. All this routine
of bodily exercise, if it be entered on before the man has put on
the divine righteousness, is just another way of going about to
establish his own righteousness, that he may not be constrained
to submit to put on the righteousness of God. Nay, so utterly
perverted is the understanding of the unconverted, that many men
are found to persevere in such a course of bodily worship of God,
while, at the same time, they persevere as diligently in some
course of open or secret iniquity. Such men seem to regard

SERMON XLVII. 275

external observance not only as an atonement for sins that are
past, but as a price paid to purchase a license to sin in time to
come. Such appears to have been the refuge of lies which the
poor woman of Samaria would fain have sat down in, when the
blessed Traveller, sitting by the well, awakened all the anxieties
of her heart, by the searching words : " Go call thy husband, and
come hither." Her anxious mind sought hither and thither for a
refuge, and found it. Where? In her religious observances:
" Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jeru-
salem is the place where men ought to worship ?" She thrusts
away the pointed conviction of sin by a question as to her outward
observances ; she changes her anxiety about the soul into nnxiety
about the place where men ought to worship ; whether it should
be Mount Zion or Mount Gerizim. Oh ! if he would only settle
that question ; if he would only tell her on which of these moun-
tains God ought to be worshipped, she was read}' to worship all
her lifetime in that favored place. If Zion be the place, she would
leave her native mountain and go and worship there, that that
might save her. Oh ! how fain she would have found here a re-
fuge for her anxious soul. With what divine kindness, then, did
the Saviour sweep away this refuge of lies, by the answer;
" Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, and now is, when ye shall
neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in
spirit and in truth."

Now it is with the very same object, and with the very same
kindness, that Paul here sweeps away the same refuge of lies
from every anxious soul, in these decisive words : " He is not a
Jew, which is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision, which
is outward in the flesh : but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly;
and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the
letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of God."

Is there any of you whom God hath awakened out of the deadly
slumber of the natural mind? — has he drawn aside the curtains,
and made the light of truth to fall upon your heart, revealing the
true condition of your soul ? — has he made you start to your feet
alarmed, that you might go and weep as you go to seek the Lord
your God ? — has he made you exchange the careless smile of
gaiety for the tears of anxiety — the loud laugh of folly, for the
cry of bitter distress about your soul ? — are you asking the way
to Zion with your face directed thitherward ? — then take heed, I
beseech you, of sitting down contented in this refuge of lies.
Remember he is not a Jew which is one outwardly ; remember
no outward observances, no prayers, or church-going, or Bible-
reading, can ever justify you in the sight of God.

I am quite aware that when anxiety for the soul enters in, then
anxiety to attend ordinances will also enter in. Like as the
stricken deer goes apart from the herd to bleed and weep alone,

276 SERMON XLVII.

BO the sin-stricken soul goes aside from his merry companions, to
weep, and read, and pray, alone. He will desire the preached
Word, and press after it more and more : but remember, ne finds
no peace in this change that is wrought in himself. When a map
goes thirsty to the well, his thirst is not allayed merely by going
there. On the contrary, it is increased every step he goes. It is
by what he draws out of the well that his thirst is satisfied. And
^ust so it is not by the mere bodily exercise of waiting on ordi-
nances that you will ever come to peace ; but by tasting of Jesus
in the ordinances — whose flesh is meat indeed, and his blood drink
indeed.

If ever, then, you are tempted to think that you are surely safe
for eternity, because you have been brought to change your treat-
ment of the outward ordinances of religion, remember, I beseech
you, the parable of the marriage feast, where man} were called ;
many were invited to come in, but few, few were found having on
the wedding garment. Many are brought within the pale of ordi-
nances, and read and hear, it may be, with considerable interest
and anxiety about all the things that are ready — the things of the
kingdom of God ; but of these many, few are persuaded to abhor
their own filthy rags, and to put on the wedding garment of the
Redeemer's righteousness. And these few alone shall sit still to
partake of the feast — the joy of their Lord ; the rest shall stand
speechless, and be cast out into outer darkness, where shall be
weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. You may read
your Bible, and pray over it till you die ; you may wait on the
preached Word every Sabbath-day, and sit down at every sacra-
ment till you die ; yet, if you do not find Christ in the ordinances ,
if he do not reveal himself to your soul in the preached Word, in
the broken bread and poured-out wine ; if you are not brought to
cleave to him, to look to him, to believe in him, to cry out with
inward adoration : "My Lord, and my God" — " how great is his
goodness ! how great is his beauty !" — then the outward obser-
vance of the ordinances is all in vain to you. You have come to
the well of salvation, but have gone away with the pitcher empty ;
and however proud and boastful you may now be of your bodily
exercise, you will find in that day that it profits little, and that you
will stand speechless before the King.

II. External observances can never stand in the stead of sancti-
ficution to the believer.

It' it be a common thing for awakened minds to seek for peace
in their external observances, to make a Christ of them, and rest
in them as their means of acceptance with God, it is also -a
common thing for those who have been brought into Christ,
and enjoy the peace of believing, to place mere external observ-
ances in the stead of growth in holiness. Every believer among
you knows how fain the old heart within you would substitute
the hearing of sermons, and the repeating of prayers, in place of

SERMON XLVII. 277

that faith which worketh by love, and which overcometh the
world. Now, the great reason why the believer is often tempted
to do this is, that he loves the ordinances. Unconverted souls
seldom take delight in the ordinances of Christ. They see no
beauty in Jesus, they see no form nor comeliness in him, they
hide their faces from him. Why should you wonder, then, that
they take no delight in praying to him continually, in praising him
daily, in calling him blessed ? Why should you wonder that the
preaching of the cross is foolishness to them, that his tabernacles
are not amiable in their eyes, that they forsake the assembling of
themselves together? They never knew the Saviour, they never
loved him ; how, then, should they love the memorials which he
has left behind him ?

When you are weeping by the chiselled monument of a de-
parted friend, you do not wonder that the careless crowd pass
by without a tear. They did not know the virtues of your
departed friend, they do not know the fragrance of his memory.
Just so the world care not for the house of prayer, the sprinkled
water, the broken bread, the poured-out wine ; for they never
knew the excellency of Jesus. But with believers it is far other-
wise. You have been divinely taught your need of Jesus ; and
therefore you delight to hear Christ preached. You have seen
the beauty of Christ crucified ; and therefore you love the
place where he is evidently set forth. You love the very name
of Jesus, it is as ointment poured forth ; therefore you could
join for ever in the melody